While China, Russia and Kazakhstan are ambitiously developing the New Silk Road, Europe is equally important, as it is the other side of the transport chain. Large logistics hubs have understood this and taken position on the New Silk Road. Among them is the Dutch hub of Venlo: host to the European Silk Road Summit 2019.

On 26 and 27 November this event takes place in the premises of the Maaspoort. Venlo is currently preparing its first rail freight links to China; via the regular New Silk Road and via the Middle Corridor. These plans will certainly be revealed in November. But it is not the only hub represented. Among others, the hub functions of Bettembourg in Luxembourg and Kouvola in Finland will be advocated too.

More international

It is the third edition of the conference, which was previously called the New Silk Road conference. But as the audience grew bigger and the geographical coverage larger, it was time to classify the event as a European happening, says Rob Vos, business developer of the event. “People are coming from countries as far as China, and so are the speakers.”

The transit through Russia is another important topic on the agenda. Fresh products and agricultural goods that were previously sanctioned for land transport through Russia can now be shipped by train or truck. Revolutionary as this is, there are is only limited information available on the practical realisation. Experts such as a sanction lawyer and a few putting the new product line into practice will discuss this type of transport.

Maritime route

This year’s edition has also reserved plenty of space to discuss other modalities on the New Silk Road. The train may be the most prominent modality on the land route between Europe and China, but that does not mean that trucks are not taking advantage of the possibilities. Moreover, the Eurasian corridor does impact the ports along the route. Several of these ports are represented to talk about their strategy, or participation. Examples are the Port of Rotterdam and the port of Baku.

Although an international event, the Netherlands does take its place on the programme, in particular on the first day, 26 November. Important players in the Netherlands will tell Dutch policymakers how the country could be even better connected. Visitors to the event can also take a look at promising projects in the region, such as the warehouses and control tower of logistics company Nunner and the hub of Venlo.

More information

You can find more information about this event on the website. Here you can find the programme, speakers, information about the site visits and the registration page.