Against this background, today, for the first time in almost three years, a meeting of the Latvian Ports, Transit and Logistics Council, which coordinates the activities of the industry, was convened to decide how to live in general. The Prime Minister, ministers, representatives of ports and municipalities, stevedores, railwaymen, customs officers and others are on the spot.
It was decided to hold the meeting behind closed doors, away from the eyes of the public and journalists. The Regulations of the Ports and Logistics Council, an order signed by the then Prime Minister Valdas Dombrovskis, is actually still a legal act in force in Latvia. It does not mention the possibility of convening closed meetings at all, on the contrary, paragraph 9 of the regulations stipulates that council meetings are open.
And in public law, the principle works – everything that is not allowed is forbidden. Government representatives indicated that the meeting was closed so that “very sensitive” information related to the competitiveness of the industry in the region could also be freely discussed.
“It will definitely be an open format going forward. We are very aware of this. We understand, but we also invite you to understand why we chose this format. It was an agreement with both entrepreneurs and ministries, otherwise the meeting would not achieve the goal we have today,” says Minister of Economy Viktors Valainis (ZZS).
At the meeting, it was decided that the Ministries of Transport and Economy will develop a plan to reorient Latvia’s port and logistics industry in the coming years. Without mentioning specific numbers or deadlines, I am quoting as it is intended to reduce dependence on Russian and Belarusian cargoes to a minimum. It should be added right away that it has been discussed in various formats for ten years.
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“Both in terms of domestic transport and in terms of attracting new cargo segments, such as ferry traffic, container cargo, general cargo, cargo related to industrial activity, energy projects, also military mobility. In all these directions, Latvia probably should have done its homework at least 10 years ago. Right now is the last moment to work in this direction as quickly as possible,” says Transport Minister Kaspars Briškens (P).
In any case, cooperation with Russia is expected to continue in terms of infrastructure. Transportation to Central Asian countries is an important direction, and in the field of railways – at least for now, nothing without the tracks of the aggressor country.
The plan should be ready within two months. A financial cover is also planned for this, how to redistribute money for infrastructure adjustments.
