Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.19
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Lithuania was not excluded from the Silk Road initiative, Trend learned from Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communication.
Earlier, some media outlets reported that the decision to exclude Lithuania from the Silk Road initiative was made during the meeting between Latvia’s President Raimonds Vejonis and First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Askar Mamin.
Reportedly, Latvia, but not Lithuania was selected as operator for construction of the northern part of the "Economic belt of the Silk Road" from China to the Baltic Sea.
“Let us reiterate that nobody has excluded Lithuania from Silk Road initiative or the “One Belt, One Road” initiative on a wider scale. Kazakhstan is free to cooperate with all partner countries along Euro-Asian transport connections, as do all other countries, including Lithuania,” said a source in the ministry.
The source noted that as mentioned before, collaboration of Lithuanian Railways in the projects of Euro-Asian connections becomes more intense.
The latest example could be a new route of freight transporting by rail, connecting Lodz (Poland), Kaliningrad, Lithuania, Belorussia, Russia, Kazakhstan and Chengdu (China), which has been opened in September 2017 in cooperation with the Railways of Kaliningrad, said the source.
“By 2030 the international trade volume between the East and West transport corridor is planned to account for 1 trillion euros annually as compared to 552 billion euros today. The ambition of distribution network of the Southern part of the Baltic Sea region including Lithuania is to serve 2.3 percent of Asia - Europe trade segment,” added the source.
The ministry representative pointed out that as the Baltic Sea Region, which Lithuania belongs to, is mentioned in the China’s strategy “One belt, one road”, the enhancement of the cooperation with People’s Republic of China in transport and logistics sector taking an active part in the “One belt, one road” and becoming a leading supply chain between China and Europe is among the major Lithuanian transport strategic goals.
"The goal of Lithuania is to direct as much freight transported from China to Europe as possible through Lithuania. We are completely ready for this – we can ensure operative clearance of all required transit procedures, technical and commercial train inspection as well as loading of the freight to 1,435 mm wide gauge wagons and ensuring its further trip to the final destination in Europe,” said the source.
Moreover, commenting on the issue, Lithuanian Railways told Trend that the information about Lithuania’s exclusion from the project is incorrect and Lithuania aspires to take part in this project.
The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road, better known as the One Belt and One Road Initiative, The Belt and Road and The Belt and Road Initiative is a development strategy proposed by China that focuses on connectivity and cooperation between Eurasian countries, primarily the People's Republic of China and the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and the oceangoing Maritime Silk Road.
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