Two European ports are striving to permanently include Gdańsk in the route of Via Carpatia. Therefore, representatives of the Port of Gdańsk and the Port of Thessaloniki, with the participation of Artur Lompart, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Greece, and representatives of the Ministry of Infrastructure, signed an agreement that will allow both parties to develop, exchange experiences, and will also open new opportunities for the transport of cargo between our countries within the framework of Via Carpathia.
During their visit to Greece, representatives of the Port of Gdańsk had the opportunity to meet with the authorities of the Port of Thessaloniki, representatives of the Central Macedonia Region, and representatives of the Aristotle University. The meetings aimed, among others, at: exchange of experiences of all Via Carpathia stakeholder groups and the Three Seas Initiative, which Greece has recently joined. A particularly discussed issue was the establishment of a branch of Via Carpatia leading to Polish ports and indicating it as another effective route in the transport corridor between Greece and Poland.
– This is a key corridor leading from the south to the north of Europe, which is to run from Klaipeda and Kaunas in Lithuania through Białystok, Lublin, Rzeszów and Kosice in Slovakia to Debrecen in Hungary, and further to Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. The route will reach, among others, to Thessaloniki, Greece, on the Aegean Sea. The creation of this corridor will increase the attractiveness of this part of Europe as a place for locating new investments - says Marek Gróbarczyk , Deputy Minister of Infrastructure in the government of the Republic of Poland.
The letter of intent between the ports was signed during the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF), the largest trade event in Southeastern Europe, which brings together approximately 1,500 exhibitors and over 200,000. guests from all over the world. On September 9, at the Port of Thessaloniki's stand, the agreement was signed by Łukasz Malinowski, President of the Port of Gdansk Authority (PGA), on the Polish side, and by Thanos Liagkos , President of the Executive Board and Managing Director of the Port of Thessaloniki (THPA) on the Greek side. The intention of both ports is to build partnership business relations and promote innovation as a key element of business development with economic entities.
– Greece's accession to the Three Seas Initiative is a key moment for strengthening political and economic cooperation between the regions of Central and Eastern Europe. The agreement between Polish and Greek ports opens new opportunities for logistics, which will further increase the volume of goods exchanged between our regions. The routes connecting Gdańsk and other Polish ports with Greece thanks to Via Carpatia will create new communication arteries that will ultimately support the integration and dynamics of development of both sides connecting this route - said Łukasz Malinowski, President of the Port of Gdańsk, during the signing ceremony of the Letter of Intent .
But the port of Gdańsk also has many other advantages - modern transhipment terminals, efficient access infrastructure to the port, and a rich network of shipping connections. It is also the undisputed leader in the Baltic Sea in container transshipment.
– Establishing cooperation between our ports provides an opportunity to exchange experiences on many levels. The resulting synergistic actions will contribute to the development of each party and the joint achievement of goals at the local and national levels, as well as during work on initiatives implemented as part of EU projects. It is extremely important to speak with a common voice, because the success of the ports is the success of our regions, said Thanos Liagkos, President of the Port of Thessaloniki, during the meeting.
Source: Port of Gdansk
