First visit to Latvia by Egyptian foreign minister

Take note – story published 4 years ago

On 17 October 2019, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Sameh Shoukry, who was in Latvia on an official visit: the first visit to Latvia by an Egyptian Foreign Minister.

"The Ministers discussed bilateral economic and political relations between Latvia and Egypt, the latest developments in the Middle East and the EU-Egypt dialogue," a ministry account of the meeting said.

"The Ministers expressed satisfaction with the friendly character of the bilateral relations and discussed the ways to expand economic and political contacts. Latvian exports to Egypt have increased considerably in 2018, reaching 70 million EUR. Thus Egypt now ranks 24th among Latvia’s major export partners. Evaluating developments in Egypt and the region, the Latvian Foreign Minister expressed support for the strengthening of the dialogue between the EU and Egypt. The Ministers also discussed the state of affairs on the Horn of Africa region," it added.

The Ministers also signed an Agreement on a mutual visa exemption for the holders of diplomatic passports. After taking effect, it will enable the holders of Latvian and Egyptian diplomatic passports to enter, exit, transit and stay in the territory of the state of the two countries that does not exceed 90 days in any 180-day period.

As part of his visit, Minister Sameh Shoukry also met with the President of Latvia, Egils Levits, and the Speaker of the Saeima (Latvian Parliament), Ināra Mūrniece, as well as laying flowers at the Freedom Monument. The Minister went on a tour of the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia and the National Library of Latvia, where he presented a gift from the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Seen a mistake?

Select text and press Ctrl+Enter to send a suggested correction to the editor

Select text and press Report a mistake to send a suggested correction to the editor

Related articles

More

Most important