Leading a 15-strong delegation to Hamburg and Lübeck, Kaspars Ozolins, Under-Secretary of State in the Latvian Ministry of Transport, and Ingo Egloff, Joint CEO of the Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM), signed a co-op agreement.
Specifically, the Memorandum of Understanding they’ve signed is aimed at intensifying data exchange and knowledge sharing, jointly drafting and implementing international projects, and working together on developing intermodal services between Europe and Asia.
Among many, the partners plan to work on connecting Rail Baltica to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. As such, an application for CoReX, a follow-up to the North Sea Baltic Connector of Regions — NSB CoRe project, was submitted this January to receive funds from the EU.
«Latvia and Germany are already partners, but further scope still exists for improved and stronger cooperation with the most significant regions and areas of the economy. We are delighted to have given the starting signal today for a close partnership with Germany’s largest seaport» Ozolins, said.
To this Egloff added: «Trade and shipping have linked Hamburg and Latvia since the days of the Hanseatic League. That is all the more reason for us to pool resources to demonstrate our close alliance on the global stage».
Marina Basso Michael, Head of Market Development for the Baltic region/Eastern Europe, HHM, also commented on the meeting, «Mutual visits lead to more meaningful dialogue between existing and potential trading partners. Latvian and German companies and ports benefit equally from this.»
