Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 4 October (BelTA) – The One Belt, One Road initiative will open new opportunities for Europe and Asia in the sphere of transport and logistics. Latvian Transport Minister Uldis Augulis made the statement during the conference on the role of the China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone in the development of the Belarusian transport and logistics system in Minsk on 4 October, BelTA has learned. The conference was held as part of the Belarusian Transport Week.

The Latvian Transport Minister said that the construction of the China-Belarus industrial park has been an important item on the agenda of the Latvian transport and logistics industry for quite some time. “Nobody is going to deny the fact that China’s One Belt, One Road initiative is extremely important for connecting the continents of Europe and Asia. The initiative will open new opportunities in transport and logistics. And the Great Stone park is an important stage in this initiative,” explained Uldis Augulis.

The Latvian Transport Minister noted that the Chinese initiative is unparalleled on the global scale. It makes one think about new approaches to logistics planning, said Uldis Augulis. He said that Latvia suggests two cooperation areas to Belarus and China — logistics and merchandise distribution.

The official also reminded that Belarus and Latvia have already implemented successful transport and logistics projects, in particular, the Zubr container train. “We are now working to expand the route to Georgia and Turkey,” he said.

The Belarusian Transport Week is scheduled to take place in Minsk on 4-6 October. It will include the tenth Belarusian Transport and Logistics Congress and the tenth international expo Transport & Logistics 2016. Delegations from and representatives of 11 countries — Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Austria, France, Sweden, Germany, and China — are taking part in the Belarusian Transport Week.

About 70 organizations from nine countries are taking part in the expo Transport & Logistics 2016. The number includes transport and logistics operators, manufacturers and dealers of automobiles, logistics hub equipment vendors, insurance companies, sea port administrations, railway administrations from CIS and non-CIS states. Apart from stands dedicated to individual companies the expo features a national stand of Latvia, a collective stand of the Klaipeda port and the port companies, a collective stand of Ukrainian Railways. ZAO SkyWay Technologies and OAO Belkommunmash (E433 Vitovt Max Electro electric bus) are showcasing innovative products, which were initially unveiled during Europe’s largest international expo InnoTrans in Berlin.