Political dialogue

Latvia recognised the independence of Azerbaijan on 8 January 1992. Azerbaijan recognised the independence of Latvia on 30 August 1991.

Diplomatic relations between the two states were established on 11 January 1994.

Since the beginning of 2005, a Latvian diplomatic mission has been in operation in Azerbaijan. On 3 November 2006, Mihails Popkovs was accredited as the Latvian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan.  

Azerbaijan opened its embassy in Latvia in 2005, and the present Azerbaijani Ambassador to Latvia is Tofiq N. Zulfugarov.

Latvia's co-operation with Azerbaijan is based on the principles of bilateral relations and Latvia's status as an EU and NATO member state. Latvia's relations with Azerbaijan may be characterised as friendly and constructive, with considerable potential for co-operation to be further expanded and developed, particularly in relation to:

• economic co-operation;
• transfer of the experience of integration into the European Union and in  implementation of economic and other reforms;
• development of cultural ties;
• expanding the legal framework.

The Latvia-Azerbaijan Inter-parliamentary Co-operation Group has been established in the Latvian Saeima. The group is chaired by Olegs Denisovs and consists of 40 Members of Parliament.

The Azerbaijan-Latvia Inter-parliamentary Working Group of the Azerbaijani Parliament (Milli Mejlis) has 6 members. Head of the group is Gultakin Y. Hajiyeva.

Economic co-operation

Statistics

Latvia's exports to Azerbaijan in the first half of 2007 reached 3,714,992 USD or 0.11% of Latvia's total export, import - 870,769 USD or 0.01%. In this period, Latvia has a positive trade balance with Azerbaijan in the amount of 2,843,429 USD.

The main export goods to Azerbaijan are cattle production (23.56%), products of chemical and allied industries (20.86%), machinery, mechanical appliances, and electrical equipment (15.77%). Import from Azerbaijan - products of food industry (79.35%) and mineral products (16.13%). 

Trade flows between Latvia and Azerbaijan (1999 to first half of 2007, in USD)

Year	Export	Import
1999	1,169,164	1,630,873
2000	781,730	899,502
2001	632,567	458,874
2002	563,303	1,562,362
2003	1,314,838	762,991
2004	3,057,788	912,491
2005	4,134,063	2,428,015
2006	7,583,390	1 941,920
1st half of 2007	3,714,198	870,769

In October 2007, there were 21 Latvian-Azerbaijani joint companies listed on the Enterprise Register of Latvia.

Visits and meetings                                    

11-12 January 1994	Visit to Baku by Latvia's Minister of Economy Ojars Kehris.
November 1996	Political consultations in Baku between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and of Azerbaijan.
8 July 1997	Meeting between the President Guntis Ulmanis of Latvia and President Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan during the NATO Summit in Madrid.
25-26 May 1999	Political consultations in Baku between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and Azerbaijan.
10 September 1999	Meeting between the President Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia, and President Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, during the Yalta Conference in Ukraine.
25 May 2000	Meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Indulis Berzins, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Vilayat Guliev, during a session of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in Florence.
9 November 2000	Meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Indulis Berzins, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Vilayat Guliev, during a session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Strasburg.
2-5 January 2001	Visit to Azerbaijan as part of a tour of the South Caucasus by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Indulis Berzins, in his capacity as Chairman of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.
9-12 July 2001	Visit to Azerbaijan by Indulis Berzins, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia.
March 2004	Political consultations in Baku between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and of Azerbaijan.
3-7 May 2005	Visit to Azerbaijan by MPs of the Saeima.
15-16 August 2005	Visit to Latvia by the Azerbaijani Minister of Defence, Safar Abiyev.
3-4 October 2005	State visit to Azerbaijan by the President Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia.
2-4 June 2006	Visit to Latvia by Ogtay Asadov, Chairman of the Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan.
14-15 September 2006	Political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and of Azerbaijan.
3-5 October 2006	State visit by President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.
1-2 March 2007	The 1st session of the Latvia-Azerbaijan Inter-governmental Commission in Baku.
8-11 March 2007	Participation in the Forum of Azerbaijani-Turkish Diaspora Organizations in Baku by the Special Assignments Minister for Society Integration Affairs, Oskars Kastens, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eriks Zunda, and Olegs Denisovs, the Chairman of the Latvia-Azerbaijan Inter-parliamentary Co-operation Group.
29-31 March 2007	Visit to Azerbaijan by Ina Gudele, the Special Assignments Minister for Electronic Government Affairs.
16-18 April 2007	Official visit to Azerbaijan by Artis Pabriks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia.
18-19 June 2007	Participation in the GUAM Summit of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development in Baku by Jurijs Strods, the Minister of Economics, and Eriks Zunda, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
27 September 2007	Participation in the international conference Dialogue of Civilizations: Role of Political Parties in Baku by Karina Petersone, the Deputy Speaker of the Saeima.

Legal basis

Ten inter-governmental agreements between Latvia and Azerbaijan and a number of agreements between Latvian and Azerbaijani state administration bodies have been signed.

Agreements 

Data base of bilateral agreements

Links:

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry

Azerbaijani Embassy in Latvia