OREANDA-NEWS. July 01, 2014. The Russia-Latvia industrial-economic conference “Freeport of Ventspils: Opportunities for Industrial Companies” was held in Ventspils, Latvia. The forum was organised with the participation of Rietumu.

Ventspils, being one of the biggest ports on the Baltic Sea, has historically played a key role in the transit of export freights from Russia and other CIS countries to the west, and in the transportation of goods from South-Eastern Asia and other regions to Europe.

The organisers of the conference are the Russian Union of Chemists, the municipality of Ventspils, administration of the Freeport of Ventspils and the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia in Russia. The forum has been supported by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia and the Latvian Association of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Companies.

The conference was dedicated to the topical issues of transit, logistics and business of international companies in the city of Ventspils. In particular, the organisation of logistics and export operations, the practical experience of issue solving during freight transportation and the arrangement of new industrial productions at the Freeport of Ventspils, the business environment in Latvia and the advantages of special economic zones and free ports of the country have been discussed, as well as opportunities for the trade financing of export operations.

As Natalya Perhova, Head of the Trade Finance Department who represented Rietumu Bank at the forum noted, “The popularity of Latvia as a transit country can be explained by its advantageous geographical location, good transport and port infrastructure and opportunities for trade finance of international operations. It is important to correctly utilise the available potential by creating a favourable environment for business development, developing and strengthening cooperation. Events such as this conference are especially valuable due to the fact that they allow the situation to be seen on the spot and opinions and experience to be exchanged, while also establishing useful contacts and finding new partners.”

Within the framework of the conference, apart from the reports and meetings in a roundtable format, the participants visited the Freeport of Ventspils and freight transhipment terminals, had meetings with business partners, etc.

The forum “Freeport of Ventspils: Opportunities for Industrial Companies” was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, heads of leading Russian and Latvian chemical and oil companies, industry associations, Russian and international organisations providing services to terminals and ports.