In order to study the port management experience and knowledge of the Port of Riga, as well as approaches for developing logistics channels and trade promotion, a high-level delegation from Corrientes, Argentina led by its Governor Gustavo Adolfo Valdes visited the Port of Riga last week, the Port of Riga Authority says in a press release. Corrientes is a province in northern Argentina known for highly developed agriculture, forestry and food production. Corrientes-produced beef, citrus fruit, tobacco, tea, rice and timber from pine and eucalyptus forests are exported to all corners of the world.
Foreign guests got to know the Port of Riga and visited the Maritime Traffic Control Centre and the port operator Rīgas Universālais termināls. The visit mostly focussed on cooperation between container terminals, possibilities for storage and shipping of frozen food via the Port of Riga, and potential cooperation in the area of timber logistics.
During the visit, a business seminar was held to discuss prospects for future cooperation between Latvia and Corrientes, Argentina. “This is a great opportunity to improve bilateral visibility and understand what we can do together. As to cooperation with Argentina, we have to think more in terms of working together and not so much in simple trade in goods,” underlined Juris Štālmeistars, the Head of the Directorate for Economic Relations, Trade and Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during his opening statement. Officials from Corrientes provided an overview of its economy, export potential and the new port project. The Latvian side told about the extensive possibilities that the Port of Riga and the Latvian transport sector can offer concerning cargo logistics in Northern Europe, as well as about potential cooperation in the timber processing sector.
Corrientes province is located at the navigable Paraná River that would allow for efficient and effective transportation of cargo by inland waterways to sea terminals from where it could be shipped further by sea. However, so far the forestry and agricultural produce exported from Corrientes has been mostly brought to sea ports by road transport. Thus, development of a new river port is one of the most important projects in the province, and the experience of the Port of Riga will contribute to its implementation.
The Freeport of Riga Authority and the province of Corrientes has signed a Protocol of Agreement to facilitate the growth of the Port of Riga and Corrientes ports, and to look for ways to develop their bilateral trade.