THE IMPORTANCE OF SAFE CONDITIONS FOR THE EFFECTIVE RECONSTRUCTION OF UKRAINE'S FRONTLINE AREAS

What conditions will be ensured for the restoration of Ukrainian territories located in close proximity to the demarcation line or the border with the Russian Federation? How effective will monitoring mechanisms be to ensure compliance?

These were the key issues discussed today at an expanded meeting of the working group on the post-war restoration of the Kherson district of the Kherson region and the creation of industrial parks on its territory, chaired by Acting Head of the Kherson District State Administration Mykhailo Zhadan and moderated by Volodymyr Makukha, Chairman of the Board of the Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum.

The urgency of addressing these issues is closely linked to the prospects for determining the future of both these territories (which includes the Kherson region) and Ukraine as a whole.

Without creating the necessary security conditions and developing clear, effective monitoring mechanisms, compliance risks transforming Ukrainian territories located in close proximity to the demarcation line or the border with the Russian Federation into depressed regions, which, in turn, could have a destabilizing impact.

For the right-bank Kherson region, one of the key markers for ensuring successful post-war development was the need to ensure security conditions and monitoring mechanisms to ensure compliance, ensuring the safe operation of Kherson ports, unimpeded navigation on the Dnieper, and the safe operation of the Kherson airport in Chornobaivka.

These issues were brought up for discussion.

Regarding the current state of the Kherson seaport and the suitability of the Dnieper River for navigation, during their speeches, Dmytro Zhminko, CEO of the British company Dnipro Cargo Limited, and Yaroslav Ilyasevych, Head of the Department of Maritime and Inland Waterway Transport of Ukraine, emphasized the significant damage to port infrastructure and shipping on the Dnieper due to military action, noting the key role of ports in ensuring the restoration and effective functioning of the Kherson region's economy.

Special attention was given to the importance of creating a "dry port" or transport and logistics hub, which is proposed to be located on the territory of one of the industrial parks initiated for creation in the communities of the Kherson district.

The phased resumption of Kherson Airport, as noted during the meeting, should serve as a "security marker" and an incentive for potential investors, even at the stage of approving the safety conditions necessary for its operation.

Presenting the project for the resumption and further development of Kherson Airport, Hryhoriy Usyk (Director of Kherson Airport from 2013 to 2017) emphasized the feasibility of ensuring its operation, approving the landing and glide route for the event using airspace exclusively over Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Azerbaijan's experience in restoring the territory of Karabakh liberated from the occupiers was discussed, and Jalal Huseynov, President of the Azerbaijani-Ukrainian Business Association "Vesy," presented this experience to the meeting participants.

Azerbaijan's successful experience in constructing modern airports in newly liberated territories can serve as an example of making the right decisions when determining the future of the Kherson airport. As noted, the new airport in Fizuli, located several dozen kilometers from the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, already serves regular flights on the Fizuli-Baku route.

During the discussion of possible solutions and actions aimed at ensuring the necessary security conditions for the effective economic recovery of the Kherson region, the following also actively participated:

Vytautas Grubliauskas, Member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Committee Chairman;

Timur Lyakh, First Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine in Poland;

Jacek Gocłowski, Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Odesa;

Mykhailo Linetsky, First Deputy Head of the Kherson City Military Administration;

Anastasia Karnaukh, Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States;

Anastasia Nabokova, Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine in Sweden;

Oleksandr Kapustin, Economic Advisor to the Embassy of Ukraine in Italy;

Arunas Tuma, Member of the Klaipėda City Council (Republic of Lithuania) and CEO of the stevedoring company Kaminera Group.

In particular, in addition to the proposal by Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States Anasasia Karnaukh to promote to American businesses the projects of enterprises that the working group will propose for construction in areas planned for industrial parks, Volodymyr Makukha, Chairman of the Board of the Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum, put forward A proposal to encourage the American side to consider the possibility of constructing a facility within one of the future industrial parks in the Kherson region, using funds allocated by the United States for Ukraine's reconstruction. The presence of an American-owned enterprise in the Kherson region should also be a factor in practicing security language and serve as an incentive for businesses to invest in the Kherson region's economy.

Yaroslav Ilyashevich also emphasized a very important initiative, already being discussed in the relevant Ministry, related to the need to amend current Ukrainian laws and regulations regarding the provision of special conditions for businesses operating within industrial parks and free economic zones located in Ukraine.

Following the discussion, the working group unanimously decided to appeal to the head of the Kherson Regional Civil-Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, to send an official letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, urging the Ukrainian negotiating team to consider security conditions and develop effective monitoring mechanisms for compliance during negotiations to ensure the safe operation of the Kherson airport in Chornobaivka, the Kherson ports, and safe navigation on the Dnieper River.

During the working group meeting, a Memorandum of Cooperation (with the right to be joined by territorial communities of the Kherson district of the Kherson region) was signed between the Kherson City Military Administration, the Kherson District State Administration, and the Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum (Baltic-Black Sea-Aspian Forum).

P.S. The working group carries out its work without spending budget funds.

The Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum carries out its work without any funding, solely on a volunteer basis.