OREANDA-NEWS. May 27, 2011. During the meeting with Development Commissioner of the EU Andris Piebalgs and representatives of African countries Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis emphasized the need to support the cooperation between entrepreneurs of Latvia and African countries more actively because it has direct impact on the improvement of living standards.

“We are ready for more active cooperation with the African continent by developing both the bilateral relations of Latvia and African countries and closer cooperation through the development cooperation mechanisms, which are available in the European Union. In addition, in order to attain practical results, it is necessary to promote the cooperation also in the private sector.

The public sector of Latvia has extensive experience in implementation of targeted reforms, while the private sector – in developing competitive entrepreneurship and we see many areas for closer cooperation between Latvia and African countries”, emphasized V.Dombrovskis.
The representatives of the African delegation appreciated it and agreed that greater involvement of European countries inter alia Latvia in the economies of African countries would help them become more modern and effective and would improve the living standards of the people. By cooperating on national level, the African countries, which are on the road to democratic development, would have the opportunity to adopt the unique experience of Latvia gained in transforming the post-socialistic system into a democratic and modern market economy.

Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States Mohamed Ibn Chambas was pleased to note that during his visit to Latvia the representatives of the African countries have been facing openness and great interest of public authorities and enterprises in cooperation with partners from Africa. M. Ibn Chambas also recognized Latvia’s success in overcoming the consequences of the global economic crisis.

At the end of discussion, V.Dombrovskis appreciated the contribution of A.Piebalgs to the promotion of cooperation between the European Union countries and African countries by launching new ideas and initiatives.