Rinkevics invites Ethiopian enterprises to take advantage of services that Latvia provides as a hub for logistics and transport

RIGA - On Friday, on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, the Foreign Minister of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, met with the Foreign Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Gedu Andargachew, in order to talk about opportunities for cooperation especially in business and trade, as well as in international organisations, LETA was informed by the Foreign Ministry.

During the meeting, Rinkevics pointed out that Latvia is steadily expanding its cooperation with countries in Africa and it values the existing cooperation with Ethiopia. Latvia seeks to develop political dialogue and to facilitate exchanges of visits.

The Latvian Foreign Minister emphasized that it is very much in Latvia’s interests to be developing economic cooperation with Ethiopia including through exchanges of visits by companies from both countries and to conclude an agreement on avoidance of double taxation.

Rinkevics highlighted the advantages of Riga International Airport and its interest in cooperation with Ethiopia on air cargo, taking into account that Addis Ababa is at the center of one of the most important air transport networks on the African continent.

During the meeting, the Latvian Foreign Minister invited businesses based in Ethiopia to utilize Latvia’s favorable geographical circumstances and well developed transit infrastructure for cargo to and from Russia, Kazakhstan, and other CIS countries. He described how Latvian ports are well-situated in terms of logistics services and for moving goods both into and out of the European Union. Ethiopian companies can profit, he said, from the use of European standard logistics and the distribution network and services available via Latvia.