Port of Riga and Port of Qingdao sign Cooperation Agreement
Last week, the Ministry of Transport of Latvia and companies from the transport sector participated in the China International Logistics Week in Xi'an, organised by the China Communications and Transport Association. One of the most important events was the International Logistics Exhibition “CHINA WESTERN INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS EXPO 2019”, where Latvian ports and VAS Latvijas Dzelzceļšwere represented by the joint stand VIA LATVIA. At this year’s exhibition, Latvia was granted the status of an honourable guest. During the event, the Freeport of Riga signed a cooperation agreement with the Port of Qingdao in China.
As Gundars Ābols, Chairperson of the Board at LDz loģistika, admitted that all players in the transport and logistics sector will benefit from the agreement between the Port of Riga and Port of Qingdao: “Last autumn, we transported cargo by rail directly from the City of Xi'an to the Port of Riga. After signing this agreement, we can hope for new cargo flows in future”.
The goal of signing the cooperation agreement is to facilitate partnership between the two ports in trading, logistics and business. It is expected to enhance cooperation and the exchange of experience in fields such as port planning and development, port management, information technologies, environmentally-friendly solutions, and employee training.
The Port of Qingdao is one of the ten largest ports worldwide in terms of cargo turnover. Last year, it was ranked 8th in the world with respect to container cargo turnover. “Until now, we have not had any partnerships with a port in this region; therefore, I am convinced that the signing of this agreement with the Freeport of Riga can serve as a good start for fruitful cooperation in future”, stated Li Fengli, Chairperson of the Board of the Port of Qingdao.
