Latvia and Japan highlight possiblities to expand exonomic co-operation [06 Aug 2009]

On 5 August, Head of the Bilateral Relations Directorate, Ambassador Eduards Stiprais met with the Director of the Europe Division in the Trade Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Hidehiro Muramatsu. During the meeting, the parties discussed bilateral co-operation between Latvia and Japan, highlighting the possibilities for expanding economic co-operation.

During the discussion, Mr Stiprais expressed gratitude for Japan's strong support to the organisation of direct charter flights, and was hopeful that such flight would be organised also in future providing opportunities for tourists and business people to develop closer contacts.

Eduards Stiprais informed about the comparative advantages of the Latvian ports and emphasized opportunities for further development of cooperation in the fields of transit, logistics and engineering industry.

Japan's side admitted that further expansion of cooperation between both countries has a great potential. Japan also encouraged the continuation of the work on spreading information on Latvia's comparative advantages to the business community.

On 4 August, for the first time in the history of Latvia, the first charter flight of Japan Airlines landed in Riga, with 350 tourists and leading representatives from the Japanese tourism industry and authorities of Ministry of Economics on board. 

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