Azerbaijan, Baku, April 20 / Trend /
Latvian President Andris Bērziņš will pay an official visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan on April 24 and 25. There he will meet with top Azerbaijani officials to talk about expanding the partnership between the two countries in terms of political dialogue and economic co-operation, the official website of the President of Latvia reported.
At the beginning of the visit, Mr Bērziņš will meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to talk about political co-operation between the two countries, the important issue of how to improve economic partnerships, co-operation under the auspices of the "Twinning" programme, and co-operation in the areas of education and science. Later, the President will lay down a wreath at the grave monument of former Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, then paying a respectful visit to a monument to those Azerbaijani civilians who were killed by the Soviet military in 1990.
On April 24, President Bērziņš will also meet with Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, as well as with the speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament, the Milli Mehlis, Ogtay Asadov, to talk about specific areas of co-operation under the auspices of various international projects, as well as about ways of expanding parliamentary relationships between the two countries.
The two presidents will also attend the Azerbaijani-Latvian Business Forum to emphasise the importance of partnerships and contacts among entrepreneurs in implementing successful projects.
Before taking part in an official banquet hosted by President Aliyev in honour of his visit, President Bērziņš will visit Azerbaijan's National Flag Square and Museum, as well as the Heydar Aliyev Fund.
On April 25, Mr Bērziņš will continue his visit by visiting the Sumgait Technology Park and meeting with Azerbaijani Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov to talk about co-operation in the areas of transport services and logistics. The President will also tour the Old Town of Baku and visit an exhibition of Latvian and Azerbaijani photography. He will attend the opening of an exhibition of art by Latvian artists, "Glass, Textile, Ceramics" at the Azerbaijani Academy of Art. The artworks were produced by artists and designers at the Latvian Academy of Art to demonstrate the broad capacities of glass, textile and ceramics in terms of areas o development and the best examples of artworks about which we can be proud in Latvia and abroad. The textile arts will be represented by classical tapestries, as well as artworks which are digitally programmed or original in their technique. The ceramics sector will be represented by artworks produced with various materials and techniques. Artists in the area of glass will demonstrate sparkling and vivid colours, plastic forms, and surprising and functionally clever dishes, lamps and other objects. A unique example of textile design at the exhibition will be a shawl that is made of amber threads and was produced with the support of Rīga as the 2014 European Capital of Culture. The amber threads were produced by Inga Ļašenko, who holds a doctorate in engineering. The threads are said to have medicinal properties.
Also on April 25, President Bērziņš will meet with members of the Latvian community in Azerbaijan to talk about their lives and about ways in which they can improve links to Latvia. At the conclusion of his visit, the President will meet with the Azerbaijani Minister for Emergency Situations, Kamaladdin Heydarov.
Mr Bērziņš will be accompanied on his official visit by four government ministers - Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs, Transportation Minister Anrijs Matīss, Health Minister Ingrīda Circene, and Agriculture Minister Laimdota Straujuma. The Economics Ministry, Environmental Protection and Regional Development Ministry, and Welfare Ministry will be represented by their state secretaries - Juris Pūce, Aleksandrs Antonovs and Ieva Jaunzeme respectively. Other members of the delegation will include the director of the Latvian Investment and Development Agency, Andris Ozols, Liepāja City Council chairman Uldis Sesks, Jēkabpils City Council chairman Leonīds Salcevičs, University of Latvia rector Mārcis Auziņš, Rīga Technical University rector Leonīds Ribickis, Latvian Academy of Art rector Aleksejs Naumovs, and Daugavpils University rector Arvīds Barševskis.
The business delegation will be made up of 74 businesspeople from a very broad range of sectors in the Latvian economy.