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Vejonis pointed out that this year Latvia and Israel were marking 25 years since establishment of diplomatic relations and it was a great opportunity to outline goals for further cooperation, the Latvian president's press service said.

It is important for Latvia to maintain a political dialogue with Israel therefore Vejonis welcomed regular exchange of visits by the officials of both countries. "We see potential for developing closer economic cooperation in food industry, wood-processing, ICT, innovative technologies and health tourism," he said, noting the growing numbers of tourists from Israel visiting Latvia.

The Latvian president informed the speaker of the Israeli parliament about the plans for celebration of Latvia's centenary in 2018, which included a cultural program in Israel.

Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kuinskis (Greens/Farmers) also met with the speaker of the Israeli parliament today, and both two officials praised the high-level political dialogue and close cooperation between the two countries.

Kucinskis extended an invitation for the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to visit Latvia, according to the Latvian prime minister's spokesman, Andrejs Vaivars.

The Latvian prime minister also spoke approvingly of the stable economic relations between Latvia and Israel, remarking that those relations could be further expanded as Latvia saw potential for economic cooperation in ICT, innovative technologies and tourism.

Total trade with Israel increased 15% in the first half of 2017, with Latvia exporting to Israel mostly food products.