The Port Governance Agency hosted two-days meetings of partners in the scope of international project DIONYSUS. The 4th Consortium, SCOM and WP&Activity Leaders meetings were held on June 1st and 2nd in a hybrid format - face-to-face in Belgrade and online, and brought together representatives of partner institutions.

The meeting was also attended by Mr. Horst Schindler Project Officer of the Danube Transnational Programme and Mr. Manfred Seitz, Director General of the Secretariat of the Danube Commission.

Mr. Silviu Meterna, General Manager of Pro Danube Romania, Lead Partner of the project, praised the Agency's initiative to hold the meetings of partner institutions live and appreciated successful organization of the conference. He pointed out that direct communication of participants is of great importance for the implementation of project activities.

Mr.Horst Schindler informed participants about the priorities that will be included in the next projects financed by DTP. He paid special attention to projects for the development of the "smart" and "green" Danube. He anounced that the call for project proposals is expected be published in the fall.

Mr. Manfred Seitz announced that the Danube Commission is preparing the text of the Declaration on the decarbonisation and sustainability of river and seaports in the Danube region, which is expected to be signed by the end of this year. The declaration will document the will of Danube ports to develop strategies and projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent by 2030.

During the meetings, the work of the partners so far was analysed and further steps for the implementation of activities in the final period of the project were determined. Representatives of the Agency announced that in the coming months, as part of the project, this institution will create master plans for the further development of ports in Prahovo, Bačka Palanka and Bogojevo.

Representatives of the Agency’s project team stated that DIONYSUS will connect Serbian ports with ports in the Danube region. They stressed that DIONYSUS represents a significant step towards the integration of Danube ports into intermodal transport systems. In regard to future conferences, the Agency will organize a regional workshop on passenger waterway transport development, in October. The workshop intends to develop national plans for the improvement of cruising, as well as overall strategies at the level of the Danube region and strengthen dialogue in this area. In addition, the Agency's team expressed its willingness to participate in future DTP projects, bearing in mind that they enable the development of potential of ports in the Danube region.

The meetings of the institutions participating in the project represent a platform for the transfer of knowledge and experience, to ensure the balanced development of the port sector on the Danube, as it was said at the conference.