Relations between the Latvian and German transport and logistics industries further intensified
16 Jul 2024 09:30 Economy
Last week, a delegation of nearly 30 people, led by Pia Steinrücke, Senator for Economic and Social Affairs of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck, and Niels Wiecker, Head of the Department of Ports and Logistics of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, traveled to Riga. Their goal was to further strengthen the longstanding partnership between port, transport, and logistics players from both regions and countries. The highlight of the delegation's trip was the Latvian-German Port Forum, held on July 11 at the invitation of Latvian Minister of Transport, Kaspars Briškens.
This forum, established last year through the joint initiative of Lübecker Hafen-Gesellschaft (LHG) and Hafen Hamburg Marketing (HHM), is conducted in close cooperation with the Latvian Ministry of Transport and supported by the Latvian ports of Riga, Ventspils, and Liepaja.
"Closer cooperation with German ports is a key element in the reorganization of the Latvian transport and logistics sector. Our ports have centuries of cooperation behind them, providing a solid foundation for further development," said Minister of Transport Kaspars Briškens. "I am pleased that there is mutual interest in expanding cooperation and that the business community is continuing the dialogue with our meeting in Riga."
Mr. Briškens outlined five priorities to help reorient Latvia's transport and logistics sector away from Russian freight: developing joint cargo flows and investments, increasing Latvian exports and expanding domestic transport, promoting industrial development in the ports and their special economic zones, accelerating renewable energy projects, and establishing new military mobility on NATO's eastern flank.
In his keynote speech, LHG Managing Director Sebastian Jürgens said, "Our traffic with Latvia has developed extremely well. This is especially pleasing for LHG as traffic with Russia has collapsed since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war." The weekly departures between Lübeck and the Latvian port of Liepaja have doubled from three to six between 2016 and today. In just a few years, Latvia has become a central logistics hub in the Baltic Sea: "Logistics accounts for around ten percent of Latvia's total economic output; in the EU as a whole, this figure is only around five percent," Jürgens explains. This highlights the significant importance of Latvia for Lübeck as a port location and thus also for LHG.
Senator Pia Steinrücke sees "great potential in deepening the cooperation, which both sides want to utilize. It is important to me that both sides learn from each other. I found it very impressive that the Latvian business community is so interested and present. This shows how important this cooperation is for the country and its people." She concluded, "We need to move even closer together and send a strong signal to strengthen the partnership with Latvia. We will now discuss this in Lübeck."
For Marina Basso Michael, Regional Director Europe at HHM, the event "served as an excellent platform to strengthen existing relationships between Latvian and German port industry players and to explore new business opportunities arising from the dynamic German-Latvian trade partnership." The delegation trip also provided an opportunity for experts to exchange views on topics such as digitalisation, environmental protection, hinterland transport, and energy logistics. "The German and Latvian maritime industries face similar challenges, where solutions must balance profitability, regulatory compliance, and future trends. It is clear that partners, linked since the Hanseatic League, must continue to work closely to make Europe modern, resilient, and prosperous," said Basso Michael.
In the final Memorandum of Cooperation signed by the Liepāja Special Economic Zone Authority, LHG, and the Hanseatic City of Lübeck, the partners committed to further developing the links between Lübeck and Latvia while making them more environmentally sustainable. The Lübeck partners are working on developing a 'Green Shipping Corridor,' which involves numerous specifically defined individual projects.
According to current data, the volume of foreign trade between Germany and Latvia in 2023 will be 1.71 million tonnes. Container traffic between Latvia and Hamburg reached around 63,000 TEUs in the same year. Stena Line has also been operating a ferry service between the ports of Lübeck and Liepaja for some time. One of Latvia's most important infrastructure projects is the 'Rail Baltica,' which will integrate the Baltic states into the European railway system with standard gauge tracks and greatly simplify rail transport from 2030.
Relations between German and Latvian logistics industry players have significantly intensified over the past decade. Mutual visits, the establishment of the German-Latvian Port Forum, and EU-funded projects have all contributed to this strengthening. For instance, since 2023, Port of Hamburg Marketing has been leading the "Blue Supply Chains" project, which includes Latvian partners.
In the port of Riga, the German delegation met with business partners and representatives of the Latvian port authorities.
