“China is a major partner for Latvia. Latvia highly appreciates the bilateral dialogue between the countries as well as the joint EU-China dialogue within the framework of the Strategic Partnership. In its turn, the China-initiated “16+1” format is an efficient tool that complements the current forms of cooperation,” stated Raimonds Vējonis during his meeting with Premier of the State Council of China Mr Li Keqiang.
“Latvia possesses all the necessary preconditions for becoming the key distribution centre of the Chinese cargo in the Baltic Sea region. By developing cooperation with the China-Belarus Industrial Park Great Stone in Minsk, I called on China to choose Riga as a direct point of access to the Baltic Sea in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative,” stressed the President of Latvia during the conversation.
Latvia is interested in attracting new Chinese investments. “We can offer extensive investment opportunities not only in the traditional sector of transport and logistics but also in emerging industries such as life sciences and green technologies already today,” noted Raimonds Vējonis. The parties expressed their satisfaction with the joint project on life sciences that the Beijing Genomics Institute has launched.
During the meeting, the officials discussed the possibility of launching direct air traffic between Latvia and China and establishing regular traffic of container trains. Latvia is interested in certification of agricultural products, especially poultry products.
“We are pleased that Latvian businesses will be able to resume exports of honey to China. We also appreciate the intergovernmental agreement on scientific and technological cooperation signed during the visit and the memorandum on cooperation in sports. These agreements will be a solid foundation for developing closer cooperation in the areas of mutual interest,” indicated Raimonds Vējonis.
President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis pays a working visit to People’s Republic of China from 15 September to 20 September 2018, during which he also met with President of China Mr Xi Jinping and participated in the Regional Meeting of the World Economic Forum.
