Agriculture, Baltic States – CIS, Latvia, Russia

Duklavs said that the Russian ambassador had said that the work on strengthening bilateral economic ties was going to be his main objective.

Latvian-Russian cooperation in border areas was also discussed. "I understand that the Russian government had adopted a special decree regarding cooperation in border areas," said Duklavs, adding that the economic cooperation terms might be eased in case of the areas on both sides of the Latvian-Russian border.

But most probably the cooperation terms will be softened not in respect of agriculture but in respect of other sectors - forestry, peat production, transport and tourism. For example, Russia might offer looser visa requirements. It is planned to discuss the details of this cooperation at a high-level meeting to be held in the Pskov region in mid-May.

The Russian ambassador had shown interest in Latvian forestry, in particular saplings, as well as in cattle farming and had said he would like to visit some Latvian farms, the Latvian agriculture minister said.

The Latvian agriculture minister and the Russian ambassador to Latvia met today to discuss further bilateral cooperation in agriculture.

The new Russia ambassador to Latvia, Yevgeny Lukyanov, presented his credentials to Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis on February 7 this year.