The meeting was a continuation of the talks between Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk and Mr. Roman Leshchenko, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.

Commitment to providing assistance to Ukraine

Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk stressed the full commitment of the Polish Government and society to supporting the Ukrainian state and providing assistance to the Ukrainian citizens staying both in their country and in the territory of Poland.

Simplification of the cross-border transport of commodities

The head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture pointed out that in the present situation efforts should be taken to simplify as much as possible any procedures for the transport of commodities across the Polish-Ukrainian border, in the case of both humanitarian and commercial transports. He stressed that Poland was open to all forms of food trade.

Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko expressed gratitude for the support which had been provided and stated that Poland was the neighbour which had supported Ukraine to the greatest extent at this difficult time. The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that ensuring food security was the absolute priority, especially in the situation where the areas in eastern Ukraine were at the brink of humanitarian disaster. She also promised to analyse as soon as possible all the ways of improving the trade in agro-food products between our countries.

Food security of Ukraine

A decision was taken to pursue further close cooperation in order to work out solutions which would be satisfactory for both Parties and contribute to ensuring food security for the Ukrainian citizens.

Deputy Prime Minister Henryk Kowalczyk entrusted Mr. Rafał Romanowski, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with the responsibility for the arrangement of technical issues.