2010 09 08

The Kaliningrad forum has been useful for Klaipeda

The Baltic Transport Forum took place in Kaliningrad on the 2nd - 3rd of September 2010. It was attended by about 100 transport field specialists from Russia, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.

The main topic of the forum was cooperation and competition in the north-western Baltic Sea region. The forum also focused on cooperation of railways between the Baltic countries, Russia, and Kazakhstan.

On the competitiveness of the Baltic ports spoke the CEO of Klaipeda State Sea Port Eugenijus Gentvilas. The DEO of Lithuanian Railways, Stasys Gudvalis, read the report on the prospects of intermodal transportation.

Paulius Grubinskas, Transport Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the Russian Federation, presented our country as a reliable logistics partner.

The Kaliningrad forum was attended by a big Lithuanian delegation, consisting of the representatives of the Lithuanian Stevedoring Companies Association, the Lithuanian National Road Carriers' Association "Lineka", and Klaipeda port companies "Bega", "KLASCO", and "Klaipedos Nafta".

Conference participants were presented to the Baltijsk Ferry of the Kaliningrad region. The forum had a website, created especially for the occasion, in which the participants were welcomed by the Russian Deputy Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Maritime Board, Sergey Ivanov, and the Minister of Transport of Latvia Kaspars Gerhards.
S. Ivanov stressed that Russia had been strengthening its ports' infrastructure in the Baltic region, and that it was entering the global market with new opportunities and new projects.

Latvia's Minister of Transport said that the container train "Baltic Transit" had already been launched. It transports goods from Central Asia to the ports of Latvia. With this train, Latvians hope to attract cargoes from the North-West region of China.

Kaliningrad representatives were mostly concerned about settling the rail tariff issues with Lithuania. The future of the Kaliningrad ports depends essentially on the Lithuanian railway tariffs. If the rates are favorable, Kaliningrad ports will be used for cargo transportation from the major part of Russia. If the tariffs are unfavorable, the Kaliningrad region will receive only as many cargoes as it is necessary to meet its ports' needs.

 

Source www.jura24.lt