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Latvia wants to re-establish direct flights to Azerbaijan - embassy

Transport Materials 8 April 2021 07:30 (UTC +04:00)
Latvia wants to re-establish direct flights to Azerbaijan - embassy

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 8

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Latvia wants to re-establish direct AirBaltic flights on the Riga-Baku route, Deputy Head of Latvian Mission in Azerbaijan Vija Buša told Trend.

Buša said that the bilateral trade in services between Azerbaijan and Latvia decreased significantly in 2020 and amounted to 6 million euros, including 5 million euros worth of exports, and 1 million euros worth of imports.

"The fall is due to travel restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic since mainly services are provided in the transport and travel areas (tourism). By now, the external borders of the EU, as well as the borders of Azerbaijan, remain closed for regular passenger traffic thus very much curbing the cooperation in the service sector, which was usually exceeding one-third of the total bilateral trade turnover," she said.

Buša noted that as soon as the epidemiological conditions will allow, the Latvian side wants to re-establish direct AirBaltic flights on the Riga-Baku route - now, flights are planned from June 2, 2021.

Talking investment cooperation between the two countries, Buša noted that at the end of 2020, Azerbaijan's direct investment balances in Latvia amounted to 17 million euros.

"The Latvian Enterprise Register registers 130 companies with Azerbaijan investments in fixed capital, taking place at 65th investment volume. Major investments of Azerbaijan in Latvia in the hotel, wholesale (including petroleum products), real estate, and catering sectors," she said.

She also emphasized that although there might be no large investment projects, Latvia has identified several economic sectors as priorities for attracting foreign investment:

- smart specialization sectors: ICT, bioeconomy, smart materials and photonics, biomedical and smart energy;

- international business services centers;

- construction, transport, and logistics, if linked to projects in the above-mentioned sectors.

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