MINSK, 20 July (BelTA) – A session of the Belarus-Latvia intergovernmental commission for economic and sci-tech cooperation is to be held in Riga on 6 September. The preparations for the session were discussed at the meeting attended by Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei and Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the meeting in Riga the parties reviewed progress in implementing the agreements reached during the February visit of the Latvian premier to Belarus.
Vladimir Makei informed that the mid-term intergovernmental plan of action had already been finalized by means of diplomatic exchanges. This plan covers major areas of the bilateral cooperation, including economy, trade, manufacturing industry, environment and management of natural resources, regional contacts, tourism and science.
The plan will be fleshed out during the forthcoming session of the intergovernmental commission that is scheduled to take place on 6 September.
Among the most promising cooperation avenues are information and communication technologies. Cooperation in transport and logistics also has good prospects. This might as well involve the Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park Great Stone.
The Belarusian minister of foreign affairs held talks with Deputy Speaker of the Latvian Saeima Gundars Daudze. The parties emphasized the importance of consistent efforts to scale up interparliamentary contacts, which is expected to benefit the bilateral relations.
According to them, it is important to cooperate at the level of chairs of parliamentary commissions for security, international affairs, and economy. The parties praised the efforts of parliamentary groups to promote the bilateral contacts.
Vladimir Makei toured the National Library of Latvia where he donated a book by Yanka Maur to the People's Bookshelf. Yanka Maur is one of the first Belarusian children's novelists. He was born in the Latvian city of Liepaja some 135 years ago.
The diplomat was shown Belarus-related books from the Rare Books and Manuscripts collection and saw an exposition of Latvian national costumes that was timed to the 100th anniversary of Latvia's independence. The minister noted that the bilateral cooperation in culture would greatly benefit from contacts between the national libraries.
Vladimir Makei toured Latvian construction and development companies, as well as enterprises servicing aircraft, and IT companies. The minister was told about the companies' operations and discussed prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation.
A day before Vladimir Makei met with his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkevics. The foreign ministers said they were glad that Belarus and Latvia stick to the tradition of holding bilateral meetings in Riga and Minsk. They pointed to the absence of problems in the bilateral relations. The focus was made on cooperation in trade and economy.
