MINSK, 10 July (BelTA) - All conditions are in place to step up political and economic cooperation between Belarus and Latvia, Speaker of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko said as he met with the Latvian parliamentary delegation led by Ainars Latkovskis, the chairman of the defense, internal affairs and corruption prevention committee of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia, in Minsk on 10 July, BelTA has learned.
Vladimir Andreichenko stressed that Belarus sees Latvia as a long-standing, reliable, promising partner. There are no serious issues in the bilateral relations that could affect the cooperation. “Belarus is open to broad cooperation in many fields that are of interest for Latvia. All conditions are in place to step up the bilateral political and economic cooperation,” Vladimir Andreichenko noted.
The parties have the opportunity to share experiences in the defense sector, combating corruption, drug trafficking, and illegal migration, said Vladimir Andreichenko. During the meeting, the MPs discussed the preparations for the 20212 IIHF World Championships to be co-hosted by Minsk and Riga. The speaker suggested discussing the preparation of road infrastructure, road service. “We should earn money on this and present Belarus and Latvia in the best possible light,” he said.
There are many areas where Belarus and Latvia could cooperate and the MPs must contribute to the development of this cooperation, the speaker noted. He invited the parliamentarians of Belarus and Latvia to outline a concrete plan of work to help solve certain issues. The matter is about trade and economic cooperation, regional cooperation, strengthening humanitarian contacts.
For his part, Ainars Latkovskis welcomed the intensification of interactions between the law enforcement agencies of Belarus and Latvia, including in combating illegal migration, smuggling, and so on. He emphasized the need to strengthen contacts at various levels, including between the MPs. “We are interested in cooperation and good neighborly relations,” the Latvian MP said.
The Belarusian-Latvian trade amounted to $440 million in 2017. The parties are confident that the potential is far from being exhausted and welcomed the good momentum in bilateral trade this year. The cooperation in the field of investment has been developing rapidly. In 2017 the Latvian business invested $125 million in the Belarusian economy.
