Ambassador submits credentials to WTO Director- General

On 30 October, Janis Mazeiks, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Latvia to the United Nations (UN) Office at Geneva and to the World Trade Organsiation (WTO), presented his credentials to Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the WTO.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the situation at the current round of multi-lateral trade negotiations, based on the Doha Development Agenda, a declaration adopted by the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, as well as accession progress to the WTO of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, both WTO candidate countries. Janis Mazeiks asserted that Latvia is interested in Russia's WTO membership and reminded his colleague that so far the negotiations on Russia's accession have not provided solutions to several issues of interest for Latvia. During the meeting, Janis Mazeiks also confirmed that Latvia will support the earliest accession to the WTO by Ukraine.

Prior to his appointment to Geneva, Mr. Mazeiks served as Foreign Policy Adviser to the former President, Vaira Vike–Freiberga, and has worked in the diplomatic service since 1995.

Until now, the permanent representative of Latvia to the WTO was Margers Krams.  He is now posted as Ambassador to Canada, but Atis Sjanits, who held the position of the Latvian Ambassador to Canada, has taken up office as Ambassador of Latvia to Ukraine.

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