OREANDA-NEWS. December 14, 2009. The second day of Latvia’s President Valdis Zatlers’ and Mrs Lilita Zatlere’s state visit to Georgia began with the laying down of a wreath at a memorial to fallen heroes, reported the Official website president.lv.
 
President Zatlers also met with Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri. The prime minister asked about Latvia’s views vis-a-vis various European Union issues such as what will happen once the Lisbon Treaty takes effect. Like other Georgian officials, Mr Gilauri thanked the President for Latvia’s assistance, particularly in recent years, point to the usefulness of Latvia’s advice and experience. The Georgian prime minister also stated his support for the establishment of bilateral working groups to deal with environmental, economic and parliamentary co-operation issues over the next year – working groups which were proposed yesterday by the Georgian and Latvian presidents during their meeting.
 
President Zatlers and Prime Minister Gilauri also discussed the Georgian-Latvian Business Forum and its importance in promoting economic co-operation. They also talked about political processes in Latvia and Georgia. Mr Gilauri said that an accomplishment in his country has been the fact that political debates have moved from the streets into Parliament.
 
After the meeting, President Zatlers toured a building that has been put up by the Latvian Pixel Invest Group with a total investment of USD 24 million. The President and First Lady were then show around the old town of Tbilisi, where they learned about Georgian traditions in the production of wine and cognac.
 
At the conclusion of their state visit to Georgia, the President, the First Lady and their delegation met at the Latvian embassy with some 20 representatives of the local Latvian community. President Zatlers told them that his two days in Georgia confirmed the friendship between the two nations. He also thanked the gathering for representing Latvia’s name in Georgia. Present for the meeting were Latvian police officers who are part of a European Union observation mission, Latvian border guards who are providing consultations to their colleagues in Georgia, young people who are doing volunteer work, embassy staff, and other representatives of the local Latvian community.
 
This evening, President and First Lady Zatlers are due to arrive in the Armenian capital city of Yerevan, where they will attend a concert dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Matenadaran repository of ancient Armenian writing and manuscripts.