OREANDA-NEWS. On October 05, 2008 President of Latvia Valdis Zatlers arrived in Uzbekistan with a state visit on the invitation of the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, reported the Official website www.gov.uz.

Uzbekistan attaches a particular importance to the development of relations with Latvia. Latvia also appreciates the cooperation with our country. An important factor is the similarity of views of both countries in the political sphere and mutual interest to developing economic ties.

It should be noted that before the collapse of the former Soviet Union, Islam Karimov supported the aspirations and actions of Latvia to achieve independence, and its foreign policy after the country proclaimed independence.

On the entry of Latvia into NATO in January 2004, the head of Uzbekistan said that each country had the right to develop its own defense doctrine in accordance with its national interests, to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity. In May same year, Latvia became a member of the European Union, which also was supported by Uzbekistan.

Latvia is one of the reliable economic partners of Uzbekistan. Our countries, apart from development of trade and economic relations, are strengthening cooperation in the sphere of transit of goods. Uzbekistan exports its products to Western states through Latvian ports.

As a member of the EU, Latvia has the opportunity to expand its presence in international economic relations, and to maximize the opportunities of the European market. In its turn, Uzbekistan, located in the heart of the Great Silk Road, is important for Latvia to develop cooperation with the Central Asian region as a whole.

The last summit of the two countries was held in April 2004 in Riga – during the state visit of President Islam Karimov to Latvia. Now the President of Latvia arrived in Uzbekistan. The visit reflects the mutual interests of both countries to expand cooperation in all fields.

The visit began on 6 October with the official welcoming ceremony of the President of Latvia at the Durmen residence. In honor of the distinguished guest, an honorary guard was built.

At the efface-to-face talks, Islam Karimov and Valdis Zatlers exchanged views on the status and prospects of Uzbek-Latvian relations, as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest.

Islam Karimov stressed the need to further strengthen the bonds of friendship between our peoples. This summit provides a good opportunity for a thorough analysis and discussion of issues related to expansion of cooperation, he noted.

“Our relations have a rich history,” Islam Karimov said. “Your visit is a manifestation of the enormous interest of the Latvian side to promote cooperation with Uzbekistan.”

Valdis Zatlers expressed his gratitude to the leader of our country for the invitation to visit Uzbekistan and noted that the Latvian side attached great importance to this visit.

“Uzbekistan is one of the powerful nations of Central Asia,” Valdis Zatlers said. “Our countries have always been linked the friendship ties.”

The presidents noted that the Tashkent summit marked a qualitatively new stage of relations and that the experience gained by the two countries would be a solid basis for strengthening cooperation.

During the meeting, the sides discussed the situation in Afghanistan. Islam Karimov noted that peace in Afghanistan could not be reached through only military methods. It is necessary to disarm the population, to focus on peaceful life and awaken the sense of creativity in people, to solve the social and economic problems, to undertake gradual reform, he said.

President of Uzbekistan once again focused on his initiative of transforming the contact group 6+2, which operated successfully with the help of the UN in 1997-2001, into 6+3, taking into consideration the current realities and the compulsory involvement of NATO in the negotiation process.

Valdis Zatlers stressed that he appreciated the attitude and the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan to bring peace to Afghanistan.

Islam Karimov and Valdis Zatlers continued the conversation at the negotiations of the official delegations of Uzbekistan and Latvia. The talks focused on expansion of trade and economic, scientific and technological, cultural and humanitarian cooperation.

The head of Uzbekistan said that mutual cooperation and partnerships were developing in the spirit of bilateral interest and expressed confidence that the talks would give a new impulse to the bilateral cooperation.

The volume of trade between the two countries in 2007 rose by nearly 50%, and in January-July 2008 amounted to USD 187 million. In Uzbekistan, 19 joint ventures set up with Latvian investors operate in industries like textile, production of radio equipment, electronics and furniture, machinery and pharmaceuticals. In Latvia, there are about 40 JVs with Uzbek investors.

In order to support direct contacts between the businessmen, during the Riga summit in 2004, a consular convention was signed. The Memorandum of Cooperation concluded between the National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan and the Latvian Parex Bank is contributing to cooperation of the financial institutions and strengthening the partnership relations between the states’ businesses.

During the negotiations, the sides discussed development of economic relations of Uzbekistan and Latvia in accordance with the capabilities of the two countries. Opening of trading houses, increasing the number of flights were among the discussed issues. Other topics were establishment of direct deliveries of Uzbek cotton to textile enterprises in Latvia, setting up joint ventures to process cotton, silk, melons and vegetables, servicing the railway transport produced in Latvia.

Cooperation between the two states could cover areas like automobile industry, logistics, furniture manufacturing, information technologies, pharmaceuticals, etc. The delegations also discussed expansion of humanitarian cooperation. Uzbekistan and Latvia have numerous historical sites, ancient monuments, recreational areas and are well positioned for the development of tourism.

Following the talks, intergovernmental agreements were signed in the field of disaster management, interdepartmental agreement on joint administrative cooperation and exchange of information in tax sphere, on exchange of information in industrial property protection, on cooperation in the fields of education, accreditation and standardization.

Speaking to journalists after the negotiations, President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov said: “In our relations, we will give priority to trade and economic cooperation. We exchanged views on issues related to transportation, processing industry, education, health, culture and other fields.”
“The main purpose of this visit is development and strengthening of Latvian-Uzbek relations,” Valdis Zatlers said. “We are confident that bilateral relations have good prospects and our cooperation in the future will be successful.”

Valdis Zatlers awarded the President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov with the highest state award of Latvia – the Three Starts order, for contribution to expansion and strengthening of friendship and cooperation between the two countries. President of Latvia was awarded with the high award of Uzbekistan – the order Buyuk Hizmatlari Uchun.

On the same day, President of Latvia, accompanied by Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, visited the Independence Square. The high guest laid flowers to the monument of Independence and humanism.

Valdis Zatlers also met the Chairman of the Senate Ilgizar Sabirov and familiarized himself with the activity of the Parliament of Uzbekistan.

The Latvian President viewed the exhibits of the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan, met the faculty and students of the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, and visited the Oloy market.