Latviski
The international logistics exhibition Transit-Kazakhstan 2016 took place on October 4 - 6 at the Kazakh financial capital Almaty. The port of Riga was represented at the conference by the Freeport of Riga Authority (FPRA) together with the port companies “Riga Container Terminal” Ltd., “Riga Universal Terminal” Ltd., "Jaunzeltiņi" Ltd., “Logistics Systems” Ltd. and “TFS Trans” Ltd. The exhibition Transit-Kazakhstan is the main transport and logistics industry event in Central Asia, bringing together leading industry professionals from Kazakhstan, the CIS countries, China and European countries, which are interested in cooperation to foster Eurasian logistics chains’ development. The FPRA and the port companies participate in the exhibition every year, but this year, thanks to more active participation of the port companies, the port of Riga has a common stand within the framework of Latvian national stand.
Kazakhstan is an important market for cargo being transshipped via the port of Riga. Riga port terminals handle the freight, coming from Kazakhstan, as well as containerized cargo, transported to Kazakhstan as final destination. Due to the current policy of Russia, actively developing its ports and redirecting the Russian cargo to them, cooperation with Kazakhstan has a great potential in regards of attracting cargo of the said country as well as creating a transport corridor for shipments from China. In particular, the fact that Kazakhstan’s transport policy in recent years is aimed at Kazakhstan’s role development as a transit country between Europe and China, should be taken into account. The so-called “New Silk Road” initiative, which is called “One Belt, One Road” in China, leading to an effective land connection from China to Europe via Kazakhstan, has become Kazakhstan’s transport policy priority. If Riga port wants to become a “One Belt, One Road” transport network component, the cooperation with Kazakhstan is of vital importance. One of the competitive advantages of Latvian transport industry and the port of Riga in providing effective transit corridor from China via Kazakhstan is the container train “Baltika Tranzit”, which for more than 10 years has been regularly running from the port of Riga to destinations in Kazakhstan, providing for Kazakhstan’s cargo flow via the port of Riga.
The port companies’ representatives confirm that participation in the exhibition is a good platform to meet the clients and build relationships with potential new partners. Since Kazakhstan is located rather far away, the exhibition is a good opportunity to meet existing and potential clients face to face, provide information on terminals and Riga port facilities, as well as on new developments. The exhibition format provides an opportunity to highlight all the advantages of Latvian transit corridor and quickly solve a variety of cargo transit issues due to the fact that Latvian stand unites representatives of the FPRA, the SJSC “Latvijas Dzelzceļš" (Latvian Railway)” and Latvian freight companies. Kazakhstan representatives attending the exhibition were mainly interested in cargo transshipment via Latvia, including operation of the container train “Baltika Tranzit”. Kazakh entrepreneurs are interested in the opportunities, provided by free economic zone regime at the Freeport of Riga, the requirements related to starting a business and receiving a free zone company status.
