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Bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Latvia are at a very high level, Juris Maklakovs, the Latvian ambassador to Azerbaijan, said in an interview with Trend.

“A successful political dialogue is underway,” he said. “The economic cooperation is being developed.”

Maklakovs said that the Latvian and Azerbaijani presidents have always had friendly relations.

"The frequent high-level visits confirm good relations between the sides,” he said. “Dana Reizniece-Ozola, the Latvian Minister of Economics, and Uldis Augulis, the Welfare Minister, visited Azerbaijan in 2015.”

“Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Valdis Zatlers, two Latvian ex-presidents will arrive in Azerbaijan in early March,” he said. “We are preparing the visit of the speaker of the Latvian parliament."

The ambassador said that he intends to contribute to the expansion of economic relations between the two countries.

"Azerbaijan and Latvia could have intensified the cooperation in the fields of information technologies and agriculture,” he said. “All the possibilities of enhancing the economic cooperation will be discussed during the next meeting of the Azerbaijan-Latvia intergovernmental commission, to be held in Riga this spring."

“Azerbaijan can be proud of its agricultural products,” he said. “If the production is adjusted in a volume necessary for the import of products to Latvia, they would be in a very high demand.”

Maklakovs said that Latvia could invest in the sphere of medicine and pharmacy in Azerbaijan.

"The Latvian pharmaceutical companies would like to expand their presence on the Azerbaijani market,” he said. “Latvia is also interested in the development of such an area as medical tourism.”

“Medicine is at a rather high level in Latvia,” he said. “The representatives of the entire consortium of Latvian various medical institutions will pay a visit to Azerbaijan in the first half of February. They will hold a number of meetings, as well as with the minister of health."

Speaking about the countries’ cooperation in transit field, the ambassador called it a great opportunity for the deepening of economic relations between the parties.

“Azerbaijan, as well as China and the Central Asian republics, positions itself as a country through which once the "Great Silk Road" passed and which has potential for transit to Europe,” he said. “Latvia also sees itself as a transit country because it has very well-developed transit infrastructure. We have a good airport, which realizes flights on 80 destinations to different countries.”

The work on a direct flight Riga-Baku is carried out, which will be realized throughout the year, he added.

The diplomat considers that this flight could help to increase the tourist flow from both countries. In addition, Azerbaijani citizens could use it for transit purposes.

“Baku is a beautiful city; there are many historical places here. If we are talking about increasing the tourist flow to Riga, it is also needed to advertise Azerbaijan for tourists from Latvia,” said Maklakovs. “For me personally, Azerbaijan has become a new discovery.”

The diplomat also touched upon the topic of education, calling Latvia a promising direction for Azerbaijani students.

Today high schools of Latvia have about 170 Azerbaijani students, he said.

“Latvian education is competitive in Europe and provides employment opportunities not only in Latvia, but also in other EU countries,” Maklakovs said. “Private higher education institutions of Latvia also provide an opportunity to study in Russian. Suitable faculties and courses can be found both in English and Latvian languages at public universities.”

In conclusion, the ambassador congratulated Azerbaijani people with the come of 2016, wishing them prosperity, good health, wealth and peace, in spite of all adversities.

“I have been six months in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani people’s kindness and openness touched my heart. For half a year I made here a lot of friends and acquaintances, who are trying in every way to help me in my work in order to contribute in our countries’ rapprochement,” Maklakovs noted.

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