On 4 and 5 June 2025, the Under Secretary of State, Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ivars Lasis, together with the Political Directors of the Baltic states and Nordic countries (NB8) visited Azerbaijan. Diplomats from the NB8 countries discussed with the Azerbaijani side their mutual cooperation, the progress of the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, issues on regional and international agenda, as well as relations between the European Union and Azerbaijan.
The visit by the NB8 Political Directors coordinated by Denmark reaffirms Azerbaijan’s status as an important partner to NB8, highlighting the shared interest of the Baltic states and Nordic countries in promoting closer bilateral ties, developing political dialogue and expanding economic cooperation with Azerbaijan.
During the discussions, Ivars Lasis made note of the traditionally good bilateral relations between Latvia and Azerbaijan. Latvia sees Azerbaijan as a constructive and interested partner. He also pledged strong support for the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process, which promotes stability and prosperity across the South Caucasus region.
The NB8 Political Directors met with Hikmat Hajiyev, advisor to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Yalchin Rafiyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and members of the local diplomatic corps.
Earlier, on 3 June, the NB8 Political Directors visited Armenia.
The NB8 (Nordic–Baltic Eight) is a cooperation format comprising Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. Cooperation between the Baltic states and the Nordic countries has been very close since the beginning of the 1990s when they were active in the N5+B3 framework, which was transformed into the NB8 format in 2007.