Opening of the congress and welcoming the guests:

• Mayor of the Terespol Commune
• Governor of the Lublin Voivodeship

• Poland’s Office of Rail Transport
• Centre for EU Transport Projects

OPENING DEBATE – Małaszewicze Logistics Centre and the economic and geopolitical conditions of Euro-Asian supply chains

The Brest-Terespol railway border crossing and the nearby Małaszewicze Dry Port are one of the most important points on intermodal routes connecting Europe with Asia. The development of logistics services in this region has become strongly dependent on the geopolitical situation in recent years.

• What is the importance of Małaszewicze for Polish and European logistics?
• How to use the potential of the largest Polish intermodal dry port?
• How does the cooperation of logistics operators, infrastructure managers and public administration affect the competitiveness of combined transport on international trunk lines passing through Małaszewicze?
• What will be the future of infrastructure and logistics investments at the largest Polish dry port?

DEBATE – Importance of logistics for economic resilience in uncertain times

Over the past few years, the global economy has been struggling with unpredictable crisis situations such as the COVID pandemic and armed conflicts, which have disrupted supply chains and required rapid changes to the geography of transport of goods that are key to the functioning of economies. These situations have shown how important efficient and flexible logistics are to ensuring economic resilience. The debate will address the strategic importance of logistics investments in Europe and Poland:

• Reform of the TEN-T Network and the development of intermodal transport
• Bottlenecks in Polish logistics
• What can logistics do for the Polish economy, and the Polish economy for logistics?
• Competitiveness of the European economy. Will we be a periphery?

DEBATE – Intermodal transport as an incentive for the economic integration of Europe and Central Asia

Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries have been experiencing an investment boom in recent years, which is increasing their potential for international trade. More and more logistics companies from Europe and China are present in the markets of Central Asian countries. The great hopes of investors and transport organisers are related to the expansion of infrastructure on the railway network and ports on the Middle Corridor. The debate will address the following issues:

• Development of intermodal transport corridors in the Central Asian region
• Chinese and European investments in the Caspian Sea region and Central Asia – competition or cooperation?
• Economic development of the former USSR countries and the possibilities for trade with Europe
• The Middle Corridor as an option for China-Europe transport
• The role of Turkey in international trade
• Possibilities of including Poland and Ukraine in the Middle Corridor

DEBATE – European logistics in the face of changes on the container shipping map

The 2023 year brought a remodeling of the container shipping industry in the world, both in terms of organisation, i.e. rebuilding shipowner alliances, and the geography of container services. Carriers, responding to the crisis situations in the Middle East, changed the logistics of ocean connections, and this resulted in changes in feeder services. During the debate, experts will discuss how these changes have affected the functioning of supply chains in such aspects as:

• Reorganisation of shipowner alliances and its effects
• The situation in shipping on the Asia-Europe, Africa-Europe routes
• Short sea shipping and its new prospects
• The importance of Polish seaports in the European network of supply chains

Recent years have brought many challenges for the road transport industry in Europe, which has come under pressure from rising costs and new regulations. In the coming years, the sector will have to invest to meet the requirements of the green economic transformation. During the debate, the invited experts will discuss such issues as:

• Electromobility and alternative fuels in freight transport and the financial situation of the industry
• The labour market for professional drivers
• Development of first mile and last mile services
• Prospects for digitalisation and autonomy in transport

CONCLUSION DEBATE – Supply Chain Security

International freight transport involves a variety of security risks and challenges faced by carriers, logistics operators and other supply chain participants. In recent years, new challenges have emerged related to cybersecurity, climate change and the geopolitical situation in various regions of the world. The debate will address issues related to ensuring transport security in various aspects:

• Legal, environmental and geopolitical security of supply chains
• Cybersecurity in transport and logistics: servers, access infrastructure, employees
• Securing cargo in transport
• Warehouse logistics security

Risks related to the exchange of information between different supply chain participants