Riga Port Seeks Cooperation with Moscow

Representatives of the Riga Duma and the Riga Free Port are currently in Moscow to discuss ways in which Moscow might use the Latvian port and in this way increase the level of cooperation between the two cities. The port of Riga is the second largest in Latvia.

As a Rosbalt correspondent was informed by Armand Kruze, an advisor to the mayor of Riga, the delegation includes Manager of the Port Leonid Loginov and General Director of the Latvian Railways Andris Zorgevits. The delegation is being led by Chairman of the Committee for the Development of Riga Andris Ameriks.

This move for closer cooperation was proposed by Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov when he visited Riga in November 2002. When signing a memorandum of cooperation between the two cities, Mr Luzhkov announced that Moscow wanted to 'work actively' with the port of Riga. The mayor of Moscow added that Riga could become one of the most important supply routes for goods coming to Moscow.

Head of the Riga Duma Press Office Guntars Kukuls claimed that the port of Riga has proposed to lease or even sell one of the port terminals to Moscow to provide a supply route to the Russian capital.