February 26 the representatives of the Government of the French Republic visited the administration of the Odessa port. The purpose of the visit was the exchange of experience in reforming of the port sector. On the French side the delegation was headed by the Director of international cooperation of Ministry of theenvironment, transport and sustainable development of France Mr Herve Boisguillaume. Guests were met by the Mikhail Sokolov, General Manager of Odessa Sea Port Authority.

In the course of negotiations, the questions of intermodal transport routes that pass through the port of Odessa, the implementation on the premises of major infrastructure projects, the relationship between the port authorities with municipal authorities. Considerable attention was paid to the problem of harmonization of the Ukrainian port legislation with main EU and the UN requirements.

The meeting culminated in the signing ceremony of the cooperation Agreement between the port of Odessa and the port of Marseille. From the Ukrainian side the signature under the document was signed by Mikhail Sokolov, on the French side by the Director of development of the port of Marseille, Mr. Georges Oberle.

The agreement includes three main areas of collaboration:

— information exchange (questions of attracting cargo traffic and investment, development of industrial infrastructure, environment);

- organization of experience exchange, training and personnel period of probation;

- cooperation in the development of cruise tourism.

It should be noted that the cooperation agreement of the leading ports of Ukraine and France is being signed for a second time. The first signing of the document for a period of 3 years was held in Odessa on May 26, 2010.

INFORMATION: Formed in the early 1990s, the efficient market model of public-private partnership in Odessa port was developed according to principles of the work organization of the French port of Marseille. This was preceded by several official missions by the specialists of OCSP for learning the experience of French colleagues. Subsequently, the specialists of the port of Odessa (operators, economists, lawyers) have undertaken an internship in Marseille.

Marseille is the largest port in France with 2500 years of history. The cargo turnover is 90 million tons per year.