U.S., Ukraine to set up task force to uphold stability of Ukrainian infrastructure

MOSCOW. Oct 20 (Interfax) - Ukraine and the United States have signed a joint statement of intent to create a U.S.-Ukraine Infrastructure Task Force focused on Ukraine's critical needs, Ukrainian media have reported with reference to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

"Today U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Alexander Kubrakov announced that they have signed a joint statement of intent to create a U.S.-Ukraine Infrastructure Task Force" focused on Ukraine's critical needs, the department said in an official press release available on its website.

"This announcement reinforces the United States' support for Ukraine and ironclad commitment to Ukraine's independence and territorial sovereignty," it said.

The U.S.-Ukraine Infrastructure Task Force plans to have an inaugural working-level meeting in the coming months and intensify joint efforts to facilitate U.S. private sector involvement and implement the best of American and Ukrainian innovation in Ukraine's reconstruction, it said.

Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Kubrakov said, "The United States remains a key ally of Ukraine."

"With today's statement, we are moving to a strategic level of cooperation in the field of infrastructure," Kubrakov said.