Culture, Education and Science, EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Tourism

Asye Ayhan Asya and Valdis Dombrovskis. Riga, 18.05.2011. Photo: flickr.com

The Ambassador acknowledged that the cooperation of six Latvian universities with 26 universities of Turkey is indicative of the successful cooperation in the area of education.

Prime Minister V.Dombrovskis thanked Ambassador of Turkey to Latvia Asye Ayhan Asya for her fruitful work on the strengthening of relations between Latvia and Turkey, emphasizing the Ambassador’s significant contribution to strengthening of economic relations, particularly in the area of logistics, informed BC Laine Kučinska, deputy head of the Communication Department at State Chancellery.

The Ambassador of Turkey to Latvia informed about Turkey’s involvement in the ZUBR container train project, thus promoting the cargo flow between Turkey and Scandinavian countries through the territory of the Baltic countries. The Ambassador noted that currently the work is going on to provide delivery of Turkish goods using ZUBR. The officials acknowledged that the project should be further developed by connecting the route to the ports of Ukraine, thus offering the opportunity to transfer cargos by road from the Black Sea to Latvia and further to Scandinavia.

In 2010, the trade turnover of Latvia and Turkey has increased by 95% against the year 2009 (the increase mainly in exports of ferrous scarps and wastes) reaching EUR 86 million. The main export goods to Turkey are metals and their products, wood and peat. Turkey mainly imports textiles and their products, vegetable products, machinery and mechanical appliances, metals and metal products, precious and semiprecious stones.