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Summa Group and Port of Rotterdam Authority have signed a global strategic partnership agreement, which will aim to develop cargo volumes between Rotterdam and Primorsk and look at commercial opportunities in other markets.

The agreement was signed by Ziyavudin Magomedov, Chairman of the Board of Summa Group, and Hans Smits, President of Port of Rotterdam Authority on December 5th 2011.

Commenting on the agreement, Magomedov said: "We welcome the opportunity to partner with the largest port in Europe. One of the things we will be looking at is ways and means to develop cargo volumes between Rotterdam and Primorsk. The scope of our cooperation is however not limited to Russia and the Netherlands , we will also be looking at opportunities to cooperate in China, India and other emerging markets."

"We have high expectations from our partnership with Summa Group, a leader of the Russian ports and logistics sector. It fits in well with our ambition to create partnerships with the world's leading companies in logistics, petrochemical industry, iron & steel and mining", said Smits. "These partnership programs are part of Port of Rotterdam Authority’s strategy to create a global network of port industrial complexes in the growth markets of Russia, Brazil, Southern Africa, Middle East, Mediterranean and Asia."

It is also envisaged that Port of Rotterdam Authority and Summa Group will share best practices in order to further improve the efficiency of their respective port assets. There will be a specific emphasis on cooperating in the field of sustainable development and in setting new standards in green port technology, Summa Group said.

The new partnership deal follows a recently-signed agreement between both parties for the construction and operation of a new oil terminal in the port of Rotterdam.

That agreement was signed on October 20th in Moscow between Port of Rotterdam Authority and Shtandart TT B.V., a company which is 75 percent owned by Summa Group. The terminal’s construction is scheduled to start in 2013 with operations set to commence in 2015.