On Monday, February 27, the President of Latvia met with the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, the Emir of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. During the meeting, the parties discussed bilateral trade and investment attraction. “Latvia can offer goods and services in areas like transport and logistics, food industry, wood processing, information technology, health care, tourism, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical business,” stated Raimonds Vējonis. The President of Latvia also pointed out the investment opportunities in areas such as transport and logistics, financial sector, and tourism industry.
“Opening a direct flight of the national airline airBaltic this autumn will be an important step towards closer contacts between Latvia and the UAE,” said Raimonds Vējonis.
On Sunday, February 26, the President of Latvia met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The officials agreed that the opening of the embassy of Latvia in the UAE and the embassy of the UAE in Latvia significantly strengthened the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
During the conversation, the constantly increasing exports of food products from Latvia to the UAE was noted, which, as the Minister affirmed, corresponded to the interests of the country. “The UAE intends to diversify food imports and calls on Latvia to further develop the cooperation in the field of agriculture by offering their food products in the UAE market. The participation of Latvia in the exhibition, Gulfood 2017, is a good opportunity for expanding exports of the food produced in Latvia to the UAE,” said Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The President of Latvia and the UAE Minister for Foreign Affairs underlined the significance of the dialogue between the EU and the Gulf countries to find solutions to the political, security-related, and humanitarian challenges both in the Gulf region and in the Middle East. “International terrorism is one among the most serious threats to peace and security in the world today, including Europe. Only close international cooperation can lead us to overcome the threats imposed by foreign militants, terrorist financing, and radicalization,” stated Raimonds Vējonis.
The officials also discussed bilateral cooperation in the field of education. The President of Latvia expressed his satisfaction with the potential partnership of the United Arab Emirates in the study program at the Riga Graduate School of Law.
On Sunday, February 26, Raimonds Vējonis met with the Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, and discussed the opportunities for closer relations in the field of education.
The Minister acknowledged that the issues of education were among key priorities of the UAE. Thus the two countries should promote further cooperation among the higher education institutions.
The President of Latvia pays a visit to the UAE from February 25 to February 28, where he also participated in the Latvia-UAE Business Forum and visited the food and hospitality exhibition, Gulfood 2017, where Latvia is represented with a national stand.