Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Latvia is being held both on a bilateral basis and within the various programs of NATO.

These remarks were made during a meeting held on August 7 between Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov and his Latvian counterpart Raimonds Vējonis who is on an official visit to Baku.

Touching on the recent tensions on the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, Hasanov said Armenia is a major threat to the regional stability, and stressed the importance of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in accordance with international laws and the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council.

For his part, Vējonis who is heading the Latvian delegation, noted the relations between Latvia and Azerbaijan are based on friendship, and Azerbaijan is an important partner of Latvia in Europe.

As part of his visit to Baku, Vējonis met with Azerbaijan's Defense Industry Minister Yaver Jamalov, during which the two sides discussed the prospects of cooperation in the field of defense industry and other issues of mutual interest.

The Latvian delegation observed the production process at the Electronic Calculating Machines (ECM) Plant of the Defense Industry Ministry and got familiarized with the goods produced at the enterprises of the Ministry.

Also, Azerbaijan and Latvia explored ways of expanding military-technical cooperation at a meeting held between Azerbaijan's Prime Minister Artur Rasizade and the Latvian minister.

Rasizade hailed cooperation between the two countries in political, economic and cultural fields.

The Prime Minister spoke of Armenia's policy against Azerbaijan, particularly the consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Vējonis, in turn, condemned Armenia's policy of aggression, saying his country has always backed Azerbaijan's just position.

He stressed the importance of ensuring settlement of the conflict in compliance with international legal norms.

Earlier Vējonis was received by President Ilham Aliyev earlier on the same day.

Latvia's Defense Minister arrived in Azerbaijan on August 7 and the visit will last until August 11.

Azerbaijan-Latvia relations are developing yearly and reciprocal visits play a huge role in taking bilateral relations forward. There is a legal framework of Azerbaijan-Latvia relations. The two countries have so far signed about 30 documents with 5 ones pending to get signed.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Latvia stood at $9.47 million. Imports from Latvia to Azerbaijan amounted to $7.66 million in January- October 2013.

The main goods exported from Latvia to Azerbaijan consist of animals, metal, food, and chemical products. Mineral and food products are mainly imported from Azerbaijan.