BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 29. Latvia is interested in the further deepening of economic cooperation with Kazakhstan, a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia told Trend.
"Economic cooperation between Latvia and Kazakhstan has been displaying a positive trend over recent years, and our businesses have amassed broad experience working with Central Asia. Latvia is interested in the further deepening of economic cooperation, especially in transport, trade, and transit, while ensuring conformity with the sanctions regime," the ministry said.
Speaking about relations between the countries of the European Union and Central Asia, the source noted that Latvia is committed to strengthening relations between the EU and CA.
"We are happy to see that Central Asia is interested in deepening cooperation with the EU. Latvia looks forward to taking advantage of the new EU Global Gateway initiative that aims to create smart, sustainable, and secure links with countries around the world in the thematic areas of digitalization, energy, transport, education, and others," the source added.
The Republic of Latvia is an important trade and economic partner of Kazakhstan in the Baltic region. The Republic of Kazakhstan is one of the top five trading partners of Latvia among the CIS countries.
Trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Latvia in 2022 amounted to $216.2 million, which is 3.7 times higher than in 2021 ($58.3 million). Exports during this period amounted to $182 million, and imports were $34.2 million.
From January through May, trade turnover amounted to $189 million ($42.9 million for the same period in 2022).
In 2022, the total volume of cargo transportation between Kazakhstan and Latvia by rail amounted to 3.683 million tons, which is 5.8 times higher than the same figure for 2021. 3.7 million tons of cargo were transported from Kazakhstan to Latvia in 2022 (an increase of 8.5 times), and from Latvia to Kazakhstan, 196,200 tons (3 times the increase).
About 120 Latvian enterprises, including joint ones, are registered in Kazakhstan. About 100 Kazakh companies operate in Latvia. Businesses operate in areas such as logistics, trade, and financial consulting.
According to the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, investments from Latvia to Kazakhstan in 2022 amounted to $52.5 million (+54 percent) and from Latvia to $2.6 million (-43 percent).