Latvia invites U.S. to use more transit services

During a meeting on Friday with U.S. Ambassador to Latvia Nancy Pettit, Latvian Transport Minister Uldis Augulis called on the United States to use Latvia's transit and logistics services more and cited cooperation with China as an example.

The Transport Ministry said during the meeting Augulis stressed that Latvian businessmen have proven their trustworthiness and competitiveness.

The minister said that Latvia could become a multi-modal logistics platform for the United States to ship its goods to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Central Asia by rail, road or aviation transport.

During the meeting the minister noted that Latvia has formed good cooperation with China in recent years. As a result, Latvia has become the logistics coordinator in the 16+1 (China and Central and Eastern Europe) format, which shows that Latvia is seen as a trustworthy partner, Augulis said.

Speaking about the implementation of the Rail Baltica high-speed rail project, the U.S. ambassador emphasized its importance to Latvia's national economy, as well as the development of the whole Baltic region.

"The United States sees this project as an important opportunity for the Baltics and a great way for the Baltic states to integrate more with Europe," she said, while wishing success in the project's development and cooperation with the other Baltic countries. Endit