Azerbaijan, Latvia plan to open trade houses

By Azernews

By Sara Israfilbayova

Azerbaijan plans to open its Trade House, aiming to support the promotion of national goods in Riga till late 2017.

The organizer of the ceremony of opening of Azerbaijan’s Trade House in Latvia intends to open Latvia’s Trade House in Baku, Latvian ambassador to Azerbaijan Juris Maklakovs told Trend.

“We have already discussed this issue with Azerbaijani minister of economy. I think next year Latvia's products will be presented in Azerbaijan in the Trade House and the country’s various trade networks,” he noted.

He went on to say that the trade turnover will increase, further adding that a number of Latvian companies are currently working on opening representative offices in Azerbaijan.

In July 2017, President Ilham Aliyev paid an official visit to Latvia, where he and President of Latvia Raimonds Vejonis signed a Joint Declaration on Establishing a Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

The visit also resulted with a memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed between the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Transport of Latvia on international combined cargo transportation, an agreement between the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan and the Latvian Ministry of Economy on cooperation in state supervision of safety of construction, and an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in education.

President Aliyev signed a relevant decree on January 26, and endorsed the economy minister to appoint trade representatives to the country’s diplomatic missions abroad and open trade houses.

Trade houses in foreign countries will facilitate the export process, promote an export of competitive Azerbaijani production and enable the countries to expand trade operations.

Azerbaijan’s first ever Trade House was opened in the Belarusian capital Minsk, on May 26 to facilitate the export process, promote an export of competitive Azerbaijani production and enable the countries to expand trade operations. Today, alcoholic products, natural juices, jams, cosmetics and other products of Azerbaijan are displayed in the Trade House.

Azerbaijan plans to open its second Trade House in Arkhangelsk region, Russia.

Latvia recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in 1992 and two years later, the sides started diplomatic relations. The embassy of Azerbaijan, which is also the first Azerbaijani embassy in the Baltic countries, was opened in Latvia in 2005, while a year later Latvian embassy started its activities in Baku.

Latvia considers Azerbaijan an important partner in the field of transit and logistics in the South Caucasus region.

Priority areas of cooperation between the two countries include joint investment projects, effective use of international transportation corridors, education, agriculture, construction, tourism and health.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Latvia in January-October 2017 amounted to $8.32 million, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, $1.65 million of which fell on export from Azerbaijan.