OREANDA-NEWS. October 15, 2010. Eesti Logistikaklaster (Estonian Logistics Cluster), a cooperation program of logistics companies, higher schools and specialist associations is now promoting Estonia's logistic location and competition advantages in several cities in China and Vietnam.

Head of Eesti Logistikaklaster Urmas Koiv told BNS that there were meetings with companies operating on the Asian and Northwest Russia course as well as state organizations." We speak about the opportunities of Estonian ports, the railway, the airport, port operators and warehouses, as well as opportunities of creating value added to Estonian products.

In Vietnam representatives of the Logistics Cluster will speak about Estonia in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon. In China there will be Estonian road shows in Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai.

In Vietnam there will be high-level meetings with the leadership of the country's trade, industry and transport ministers. Besides, there will be meetings with the Vietnamese association of forwarders and the Chamber of Trade and Industry.

Koiv said that nearly 150 potential Vietnamese cooperation partners would take part in seminars and meetings in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Among others Eero Pargmae, Deputy Secretary General for Transport of the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Board Chairman of Eesti Raudteee Kaido Simmermann, Commercial Director of the Port of Tallinn Erik Ringma and Board Member of Tallinn Airport Erik Sakkov will take part in a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City.

Koiv said that in China there would be meetings with the world's biggest ocean liners' and logistic companies as well as with representatives of Chinese airlines. On  the Estonian side the Estonian ambassador in China helped create contacts. "We will take part in one of the biggest logistic and transport fairs in Shenzhen in China. There will be a visit to the port of Shanghai together with the Estonian president. It is a very tight program," he said.

In Beijing, Shanghai  and Shenzhen nearly 80 existing and new Chinese cooperation partners will take part in the meetings.

Koiv said that in Asia relations developed very slowly. "Asian partners must be visited for years in order that trust and mutual understanding would develop.

Members of the logistics cluster recently also visited  Kazakhstan and St. Petersburg and in November they would go to the Netherlands, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. "The companies operating at those ports are our important partners," Koiv said.

He added that different people would speak about Estonia at different meetings. "We have no reserves, we have applied all the people, both from the private and the public sectors, for making  the Estonian logistic location better known in the world."

The Logistic Cluster cooperates with the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Communications, the Foreign Ministry and with Enterprise Estonia.

Taking part in the Logistics Cluster program are the Port of Tallinn, Estonian Railway, Tallinn Airport, Sillamae Port, Vopak-EOS, Alexela Logistics, Smarten Logistics, the Association of Estonian Ports, the State Reserves Center, the Paldiski North Port, Esteve Terminal, DBT, Contimer, Bominflot, Tallinn University of Technology and the Mainor High School.