President of Latvia Egils Levits met with Azerbaijani and Latvian businessmen in Baku on March 8.
Publika.az reports that the President of Latvia said that he is sure that this event will contribute to the development of relations between the two countries. He said that Latvia is a member of NATO and the European Union. He also sees Azerbaijan as a close partner in economic relations. Egils Levits noted that Azerbaijan plays an active role in the European energy market and has a special place in the diversification of energy sources.
Emphasizing the existence of close mutual relations between Azerbaijan and Latvia, Egils Levits said that relations in the economic sphere are developing and there is hope that this will expand further. He added that a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between the Investment and Business Development Agency of Latvia and the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of Azerbaijan (AZPROMO).
Stating that Azerbaijan is Latvia’s main trade partner, the President of Latvia drew attention to the fact that the time has come to restore the supply chains disrupted as a result of the closure of borders during the pandemic.
Yusif Abdullayev, head of AZPROMO, said in his speech that 16 Latvian companies operate in Azerbaijan. Most of these companies are in the field of transportation. According to him, Azerbaijan also invested in Latvia. The amount of this investment is 166 million dollars. He added that Latvian companies can also invest in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan.
Y.Abdullayev said that in 2022, the volume of trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Latvia increased by more than 70 percent and amounted to 46 million dollars. Exports to Latvia increased almost three times and amounted to 28 million dollars. 98 percent of exports to Latvia were accounted for by the non-oil sector. This means that Latvia is an important country in North-Eastern Europe in terms of importing our non-oil products.
Kaspars Rozkalns, director general of the Investment and Business Development Agency of Latvia, noted that Latvia and Azerbaijan can create a joint production of competitive products, and it will be easy to export these products to European markets. He stressed that Latvian companies want to cooperate with Azerbaijan on joint production in order to bring their products to the European market in the future. There are 5 priority areas in this regard.
The meeting continued with discussions.
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