OREANDA-NEWS. June 17, 2013. Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, during the meeting with the new Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Sarah Cowley expressed his satisfaction over the development of very good relations between Latvia and Great Britain, characterized by exchange of high level visits.

During the meeting, V.Dombrovskis called for continued development of mutual relations, active political dialogue and economic cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral level, including the Northern Future Forum.

The Prime Minister appreciated growth in trade turnover in 2012 between Latvia and Great Britain, and expressed the hope that this positive trend will continue in 2013, because Britain has traditionally been one of the most important economic partners of Latvia. Latvia has also established itself as a benchmark for the transport and logistics sector of Europe, given the rail and port infrastructure, as well as its high labour competitiveness.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister and the Ambassador expressed satisfaction over recent decision of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to launch negotiations on the accession of Latvia to this organization. V.Dombrovskis expressed gratitude for the support of Great Britain in this matter.

The Ambassador of Great Britain congratulated Latvia on its progress towards the euro area. S.Cowley confirmed that Great Britain will provide the necessary support to Latvia at a time when Latvia for the first time will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Photos of the meeting.

Indicators of trade between Latvia and Great Britain:

The export volume of goods to Great Britain has increased by 20.7% or EUR 49.46 million in 2012 compared to the respective period of 2011. The total trade turnover with Great Britain has also increased by 11.9% or EUR 47.73. With the total trade turnover volume of EUR 450 00 million the United Kingdom ranks the 11th among the foreign trade partners of Latvia. At the end of 2012, the direct investment balance of Great Britain in Latvia amounted to EUR 280, 00 million. The largest investments were made in the operations with real estate, renting and other commercial services, in retail and wholesale, as well as financial intermediation.