During the political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs held in Riga, Kazakhstan and Latvia reaffirmed their mutual commitment to further expanding comprehensive cooperation, El.kz cites MFA
Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko led the Kazakh delegation, while Deputy State Secretary – Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andzejs Vilumsons led the Latvian delegation.
The parties compared notes on a wide range of items of bilateral cooperation. The agenda also covered cooperation between Astana and Riga within the UN, the OSCE, and other international organizations, as well as interaction with the European Union.
“Kazakhstan places a great priority on the multifaceted development of cooperation with Latvia in the spirit of friendship and trusted partnership. The political will of the leaders of both Kazakhstan and Latvia has laid a solid foundation for the development of multifaceted cooperation,” Deputy Minister Vassilenko said.
The Kazakh diplomat briefed his counterparts on the new economic priorities outlined by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his state-of-the-nation address “The Economic Course of a Just Kazakhstan”.
Mr. Vilumsons reaffirmed Latvia’s interest in building up mutually beneficial cooperation with Kazakhstan across the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation.
The parties highlighted positive dynamics in the economic sphere: the trade turnover for the first 9 months of 2023 amounted to $257 million, which is 76% higher than in 2022 (145.9 million USD). FDIs from Latvia to Kazakhstan in 2022 increased by 54% to $52.5 million.
In conclusion, the heads of delegations agreed to maintain a close dialogue between the foreign ministries, underlining the importance of the bilateral consultations.
During his visit, Deputy Minister Vassilenko also had productive meeting with Uldis Reimanis, Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Co-Chairman of the Kazakh-Latvian Working Group on Transport.