BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 8. Last week, representatives of the state-owned company Latvijas dzelzceļš (Latvian Railways, LDz) and its subsidiary LDZ CARGO joined the delegation of Minister of Transport Atis Švinka on an official visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Trend reports.
The delegation met with government ministries, business associations, and industry leaders to strengthen strategic partnerships and promote freight transport between Central Asia and Latvia.
During the visit, the parties discussed opportunities for expanding cooperation and highlighted the advantages of Latvia’s transit corridor in meetings with Kazakhstan’s First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar, Minister of Transport Nurlan Sauranbayev, and representatives of various manufacturing and industrial sectors.
The delegation also visited Tashkent, where meetings were held with Uzbekistan’s Ministers of Transport, Mining and Geology, and Investment and Industry, as well as with the leadership of the country’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Latvia was also represented at one of Eurasia’s largest transport and logistics exhibitions, TransLogistica Kazakhstan 2025, held in Almaty, where under the unified national brand “VIA Latvia,” the Latvian transport and logistics sector showcased its services and infrastructure capabilities. Alongside participation in the exhibition and official meetings, LDz representatives engaged with Kazakh entrepreneurs and logistics companies to develop new cooperation projects, improve existing routes, and enhance service quality.
This year’s exhibition featured several major conferences and forums, including Kazakhstan–European Union, which focused on boosting export–import freight flows and advancing sustainable, green technologies.
“In recent years, we have successfully attracted significant freight volumes to and from Central Asia, but there remains great potential for further growth. We highly value Minister Švinka’s visit, which plays an important role in deepening our cooperation in the region. Beyond our primary cargo segments—grain, fertilizers, and metal products—we are actively working on attracting container cargo from Europe and China, as well as exploring opportunities for cooperation with Kazakhstan in railway infrastructure construction. This year’s exhibition in Kazakhstan saw strong participation from the Baltic States, clearly showing that we are also competitors for Central Asian freight,” Member of the Board of LDz, Rinalds Pļavnieks, emphasized.
Latvian Railways is strategically leveraging synergies to optimize freight modalities and enhance collaborative frameworks with regional stakeholders. Kazakh enterprises and logistics stakeholders articulated significant enthusiasm for Latvia as a pivotal transit nexus, providing synergistic transport, port, and logistics solutions.
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