Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins on an official visit to Azerbaijan

From 16 – 17 April Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins will be on an Official Visit to Azerbaijan.

During this visit the leader of Latvia's foreign policy department will have meetings scheduled with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, as well as with Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov and the Minister for Economic Development, Shahin Mustafayev.

During their meetings it is envisaged to discuss the bilateral relations between Latvia and Azerbaijan, the situation in the South Causasus region and also questions in connection with Azerbaijan's relationship with the Eastern Partnership.

In the course of discussions with Azerbaijan's senior officials, a significant emphasis will be devoted to the intensification of economic relations between both states. Latvia's balance of trade with Azerbaijan is in the positive, and in fact the quantity of trading has doubled during 2008 with an increase in imports from Azerbaijan, having grown by 30%, and Latvia's exports to Azerbaijan have doubled with sales reaching 15.5 million USD.

During this visit, the Foreign Minister will be accompanied by a sizeable delegation of Latvian businessmen representing enterprises which have already made inroads to the Azerbaijani market. Among these – management from the companies: Rigas  Piena kombinats, the bakery Laci, BMS technologies, the MV Group, and Euro Data  as well as representatives of various credit institutions such as the Parex bank, Aizkraukles bank and the bank Baltikums.

On 17 April, Maris Riekstins will open the Latvia-Azerbaijan Business Forum which is being organised in Baku by the Embassy of Latvia in association with the Azerbaijani Export & Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPromo) and the Caspian-European Integration Business Club.

Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins is visiting Azerbaijan at the expressed invitation of Azerbaijan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Elmar Mammadyarov, who visited  Riga on 24 April 2008.

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