Latvia, Riga, Jan. 27 / Trend I.Hajibalayev /
Azerbaijani Ambassador to Latvia and Estonia Tofik Zulfugarov urged Latvian businessmen to pay more attention to Azerbaijan and actively invest in its economy.
While the national debt of most countries continuing to grow due to the global economic crisis, Azerbaijan remains an island of financial health and its GDP is growing, Zulfugarov told the journalists.
He added that although the annual trade between the two countries is only $ 10 million, the figure does not reflect the real situation. Low turnover is primarily connected with the great distance between Latvia and Azerbaijan.
Nevertheless, Laima candy and Latvian cream are well known in Azerbaijan and the Latvian construction company showed themselves here.
The banking sector and high technologies is the main spheres of Latvia-Azerbaijan cooperation. Particularly, five Latvian banks and several IT-companies operate in Azerbaijan and Parex Bank has invested $240 million in the country.
"At the moment all the conditions for cooperation of Latvian and Azerbaijani business were created. The agreements on avoidance of double taxation and investment protection signed between the two countries are the basis for this," he added.
Latvian MP and chairman of an Azerbaijani-Latvian parliamentary working group Oleg Denisov complained about existing bureaucratic obstacles on both sides, which hinder cooperation.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan is interested in developing cooperation with Latvia in the fields of tourism, transit, logistics, energy, culture and agriculture.
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