Azernews.Az

RIGA – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Latvian counterpart Valdis Zatlers signed a joint declaration on multi-faceted cooperation at the end of talks held in Riga on Monday.

According to the Latvian president’s website, the two leaders pledged to continue cooperation in a number of fields including trade, defense, communications, transport, civil aviation, tourism, healthcare, science and education.

The declaration also stressed the importance of settling the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh peacefully and in line with international law. The signatories said they honored the independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and Latvia.

During President Aliyev’s visit to Latvia, the two countries also signed agreements on cooperation in their response to emergencies and on mutual assistance and exchange of information on taxation.

The Azerbaijani and Latvian leaders attended the opening of a joint business forum on Monday.

According to Latvia’s Nasha.lv website, Presidents Aliyev and Zatlers told a news conference that the two countries have yet to fully capitalize on the potential for their economic cooperation.

The Azerbaijani president said that despite the high level of political relations, much work remains to be done in the field of economics. He said considering this, 50 Azerbaijani entrepreneurs are participating at the business forum.

Zatlers, for his part, said Latvia was also interested in expanding its economic relations with the South Caucasus republic.

"Establishing a Latvian-Azerbaijani business council is crucial for the development of business ties," he added.