Raimonds Vējonis
“Latvia aims at keeping the leading position in transport among the Baltic States,” emphasised President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis when opening the conference “The Vision of Global Transport Movement. Eurasian Potential” in Astana on Monday, July 10. The President of Latvia indicated that transport traditionally was one of the cornerstones of the Latvian economy providing the bloodstream of the national economy, and the further growth of the sector was an important national priority. In the transit sector, Latvia is a constant leader among the Baltic States, as Latvian ports enlist the largest volumes of cargo transhipment.

 

“Kazakhstan has also long been a reliable partner for the transport sector of Latvia. Cooperation in transport and logistics has been mutually appealing and beneficial for both countries. The geographic advantages and developed transport infrastructure of our countries are the key to the opportunities and to connecting the continents by ensuring freight flows from Asian countries to Europe and vice versa,” stated Raimonds Vējonis.

 

The Head of State paid the attention to the fact that when the world changed, demand changed along directly affecting transport services, their quality, and technologies used. He admitted that developing container transportation from Europe via Latvia to the Asian countries and the freight flows in the opposite direction were the main priority of the Latvian transport sector currently. To achieve that goal, the well-developed infrastructure in Latvia is not enough and developing cooperation with partners is very important.

 

“Transit is a cross-border industry that includes extensive cooperation among the countries on the Eurasian continent, and Kazakhstan is clearly one of the vital partners for Latvia,” stressed Raimonds Vējonis. 

 

The conference “The Vision of Global Transport Movement. Eurasian Potential” is held during the Transit and Logistics Week of Latvia within the framework of EXPO 2017 Astana. It is expected that approximately 2 to 5 million people will visit the exhibition by September. The theme of EXPO 2017 Astana is “Future Energy”, whereas the leading motive of the Latvia’s pavilion is Energy is in our nature.