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Romania, Bulgaria sign memorandum on sustainable development of Danube transport
Romania and Bulgaria signed on Thursday in Sofia a memorandum on putting in place an inter-institutional committee for sustainable development of the inland waterways transport along the Romanian-Bulgarian Danube stretch.
The document was signed by Romanian Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Ovidiu Silaghi, Bulgarian Minister of Regional Development Liliana Pavlova and Bulgaria's Minister of Transport and Information Technology Ivailo Moskovski.
Ovidiu Silaghi underscored the important role State Secretary at the Ministry of Transports Valentin Preda and Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Regional Development Nikolina Nikolova played in the formulation of this project. In his opinion, the document represents a sound footing for the upcoming projects. The Danube Strategy is a well-designed instrument and very useful for both countries and at this moment, the extent to which we can benefit by the opportunities it offers lies in our hands, the Romanian minister believes. The fact that we have the Danube Strategy is not enough, we must find ways to use it. We must speak with one voice in Brussels about our projects. Based on the document we signed today, we have the possibility to speak with one voice, because we share common strategic interests, Ovidiu Silaghi also said.
Also attending the event was Cesare Bernabei, representative of the Directorate General for Mobility and Transport in the European Commission, who said that the development of navigable channels does not mean only the development of transports, but also the economic development of the region, giving the example of France and Belgium who joined efforts in building navigable channels.
The inter-institutional committee will identify financial resources to draw up projects and will give assistance in the implementation to the letter of the action plan. Furthermore, it will analyse both countries' legislation framework related to the maintenance and improvement of navigation and if necessary, it will table proposals aimed at amending the legislative framework.