Cargo, China, Cooperation, Good for Business, Latvia, Logistics, Port, Railways, Transport

Under the memorandum of cooperation, Latvia and China will cooperate in development of ports, improvement of port infrastructure, attraction of investments and development of industrial parks. The talks on the memorandum began in February this year when Ning Jizhe visited Riga.

Augulis said that signing of the memorandum will give Latvian and Chinese companies a chance to find mutually fruitful cooperation opportunities and achieve practical results in the nearest future. "We will have a common vision of specific steps towards long-term cooperation in transport and logistics which will significantly contribute to the Latvian economic growth in the future,” the Latvian transport minister said.

During the meeting with Chinese Transport Minister Yang Chuantang, Augulis said that Latvia had made a lot of effort over the last ten years to develop its special niche in provision of transport and logistics services in Eurasia. Transit services account for 10% of Latvian GDP and, as a strategically important sector, enjoys great support from the Latvian government.

"We can be a strategic partner to China through active participation in One Belt One Road initiative. At the same time, Latvia due to its geographic location is the largest natural cargo reloading center in the region, therefore we have to work together to strengthen connectivity throughout Eurasia and stabilize its leading position in the Baltic region,” the Latvian transport minister said.

The Chinese transport minister confirmed his country’s willingness to cooperate with Latvia and voiced appreciation of the Latvian Transport Ministry’s efforts to strengthen cooperation. Latvia and China have common interests in development of pragmatic cooperation between the governments and companies of both countries.