Opinions & Interviews

RIGA, 21 May (BelTA) - Belarus and Latvia are satisfied with the pace they have gathered in economic cooperation, Belarus First Deputy Economy Minister Alexander Zaborovsky said when commenting on his talks with Latvia Economy Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola, BelTA has learned.

"As of today both sides are satisfied with the pace of economic cooperation. We are satisfied with the arrangements that we have reached. Naturally, we see the prospects,” Alexander Zaborovsky said.

He explained that the talks were about the long-term and stable development of transit to the Baltic ports, including to Freeport of Riga. "This allows developing the long-term basic conditions, which the business discusses, which are realized in concrete projects," he said.

When asked about the cargo transshipment tariffs, Alexander Zaborovsky emphasized: "We believe that for the long-term development of transit we need to see the delivery terms in the long-term perspective. And these are not only transit tariffs but also cargo transshipment tariffs. We discussed the approaches that would give guarantees not only in a certain area of the transit delivery chain but also the long-term predictable guarantees for the entire supply chain.”

Alexander Zaborovsky noted that there are two dimensions. First, these are the agreements between the companies on transshipment, transit tariffs, etc. Secondly, the state is entering this process, which guarantees stability and predictability. "It is a comprehensive package approach where the tariffs and tariff policy of a transiting country are tied to the obligations in terms of volumes of a supplying country,” Alexander Zaborovsky said.