President of Latvia opens Latvian consulate in Bonn [16 Mar 2005]

On 16 and 17 March 2005, the President of Latvia, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, is making a working visit to Germany. On 16 March, the President is attending the opening of the Latvian consulate in Bonn. The visit includes a ceremony at the Townhall of Bonn, where President Vike-Freiberga is to sign the city's Gold Book. The President also plans to deliver a speech on Transatlantic Relations from Latvia's Perspective and attend a reception held to celebrate the opening of the consulate. 

The consulate is located in a building where the Latvian embassy had been operating until 1999. The consular district encompasses five federal lands - North Rhine-Westphalia, Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden-Wuerttemberg, and Saarland. The Latvian consulate in Bonn is headed by Counsellor Daiga Krieva. 

On 17 March, the President of Latvia is visiting Duesseldorf to meet with representatives of German entrepreneurs and deliver a speech on Latvia - a Country of Dynamic Growth and a Reliable Partner for Germany. Later the same day, the President is heading for Essen to address the Hypothekenbank AG concluding meeting on the year 2004. 

During her visit, the President is also scheduled to give interviews to the German media - newspapers Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and General-Anzeiger, and radio Deutsche Welle and DeutschlandRadio.

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