220 representatives of the Czech and Slovak transport and logistics sectors at the invitation of the Port of Hamburg

After a two-year break, around 220 representatives of the Czech and Slovakian logistics and transport sectors met yesterday at the invitation of the Port of Hamburg Marketing representative office in Prague with representatives of member companies from the metropolitan region for the traditional port evening.

Among the guests was a delegation from the Czech Ministry of Transport with Transport Minister Martin Kupka, Deputy Minister Václav Bernard and Dr. Hans Peter Hinrichsen, head of the department for political affairs and at the same time deputy of the German ambassador to the Czech Republic. Lutz M. Birke, Head of the “Port and Innovation” Office of the Authority for Economics and Innovation, and Tino Klemm, CFO at the Hamburg Port Authority, traveled from Hamburg

Vladimír Doboš, head of the Port of Hamburg Marketing representative office in Prague, was pleased with the broad participation and mentioned the many years of successful cooperation that has closely linked the Czech and Slovakian forwarding industry and shippers with the Port of Hamburg for many years.

In his speech, the Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka highlighted the importance of the Port of Hamburg for Czech foreign trade in today’s turbulent times and praised the intensified exchange on the joint expansion of cross-border transport routes in recent years.

The Port of Hamburg remains the most important gateway to the world for Czech foreign trade by sea. Last year around 500,000 TEU (20-foot standard containers) originating in or ending in the Czech Republic or Slovakia were handled via Hamburg container terminals.

The most important mode of transport for Czech and Slovak imports and exports is the railway, with a modal split share of over 90%.

Between the Port of Hamburg and the Czech and Slovakian hinterland terminals (HUBs), more than 120 container block trains run every week. The leading providers of these container train connections are the HHLA subsidiary Metrans and Rail Cargo Operator.

“Collaboration with EU partners in Central and Eastern Europe is more important than ever for the Port of Hamburg.

The best example is the exchange with the Czech Republic. German-Czech trade reached a new record value of 94 billion euros in 2021, exceeding the level before the corona pandemic.

So we have a real win-win situation here with great importance for both sides. And we hope to be able to further expand and develop this close cooperation,” agrees Lutz Birke.

Marina Basso Michael, Regional Director Europe at Port of Hamburg Marketing, also emphasizes the special role of the Czech Republic in questions of cohesion and unity at European level in times of crisis. According to Basso Michael, the Czech Republic is making a very important contribution with its current EU presidency and with its political priorities such as energy security and strategic resilience of the European economy.