BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.8
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Georgia is one of Latvia’s priority countries in the European Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership, as well as in the context of Development Cooperation Policy of Latvia, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Trend.
"Up-until the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral relations between Latvia and Georgia have developed very positively by ways of high-level visits, as well as by growing good cooperation on the business level," the ministry added.
According to the source, the continued growth of bilateral trade in recent years is also proof of this. In 2019 the volume of bilateral trade continued to grow, however, there is a significant drop in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"As of 2020, Georgia is Latvia’s 54th largest trade partner (49th in export, 53rd in import). We see the potential for economic cooperation in agriculture, food processing, chemistry (including pharmacy), machinery and mechanical equipment, transport and logistics, tourism, education, IT, Innovations and Start-ups, as well as the environmental sector (incl. waste management, clean technologies)," the ministry said.
"As the situation stabilizes and after lifting the restrictions of Covid-19, it will be particularly important for us to promote cooperation between our national entrepreneurs in order intensify trade-economic and investments cooperation," said the ministry.
Latvia and Georgia concluded an Agreement on Economic, Industrial, Scientific and Technical Cooperation in 2005. This agreement includes the establishment of the Latvian-Georgian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Industrial, Scientific and Technical Cooperation (IGC), which is co-chaired by the ministers for the economy of both countries. IGC is a useful instrument for promoting the economic, industrial, scientific, and technical cooperation between Latvia and Georgia, that regularly allows discussion of issues of bilateral economic cooperation.
In addition to the IGC, the Latvia – Georgia Business Cooperation Council, established in 2014 by the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia and Georgian Employers’ Association, is another noteworthy instrument for fostering economic cooperation between our countries.
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