Baku International Sea Trade Port (BISTP) has signed a memorandum of understanding with companies and other entities operating in Venlo, Limburg Province in southeast Netherlands, near the German border. A delegation from Port of Baku visited Limburg last week with the aim of reaching agreements in the field of logistics.
Dutch partners include Cabooter Group, SMART Logistics Center Venlo, the Limburg Development and Investment Company, Greenport Venlo, KLG Europe, Northern Limburg Development Council, the Azerbaijan-Netherlands Business Hub and the Fontys University of Applied Sciences.
BISTP general director Taleh Ziyadov commented that the cooperation is based on the strategy of turning Azerbaijan into a regional hub: “Our cooperation, the foundation of which is being laid today, will be the result of attracting well-known companies from the Netherlands and Europe to the port of Baku. It is gratifying that the Dutch companies in the logistics chain between Asia and Europe pay special attention to the new port of Baku located in Alat settlement, and seek to involve various services and production in our country.”
Both parties also agreed with logistics companies operating in Venlo for the first test container transportation along the Venlo-Istanbul-Baku-China route next month. Baku port was also consider opening representative in Venlo. As part of the agreement reached with the Fontys University, Baku Port specialists will be involved in training and practical experience for a six-month period in Venlo.
SMART Logistics Centre Venlo has an overall concept in which businesses work together with the government and educational and research institutions so that the logistics region of North Limburg in the Netherlands can expand to become a key European logistics hub. Currently, there are about 200 stakeholders participating, most of which come from the logistics sector.
Baku Port is taking steps to become a regional transport and logistics hub in Eurasia. A new port is now under construction in Alyat. By the end of the first phase of construction, the cargo processing capacity of the new port will increase to about 10-11.5 million tons and 40,000 – 50,000 TEU. By the end of the second and third stages of construction, the cargo processing capacity is planned to reach about 25 million tons and up to 1 million TEU per year.
Once part of the Silk Road trade network, Central Eurasia is poised to regain its historical role as a commercial bridge between east and west, north and south – the new Silk Road. Azerbaijan is located at the crossroads of major Eurasian transport corridors. The country and Baku port could become a commercial bridge between Europe and Asia, and a major distribution hub in Eurasia for the new Silk Road.
Source: www.portseurope.com