DUBAI // The UAE is to work with Latvia on joint projects that include security, education and food imports, the president of the Baltic state says.
With four new weekly flights planned between Abu Dhabi and Riga, the capital, from the end of October, Raimonds Vejonis said both countries were taking their cooperation to the next level with the recent signing of key agreements.
“We chose the UAE as a main partner for Latvia because we have the same kind of historical background,” Mr Vejonis said on Monday.
“Latvia feels like a regional hub for economic activities. We have very good connections in Europe and we see the UAE as a hub in the Gulf. So, together, we can spread our cooperation to other countries like Africa and the Middle East.”
Latvia will begin a halal certification procedure to meet UAE food requirements.
“It is one of the areas where we can support [the UAE] because Latvia is one of the greenest countries in the world and we have great experience [in] producing organic food,” Mr Vejonis said.
“An agreement was signed between both ministries on how to establish better cooperation.
“We have a few farms which are already halal but this is about the certification process.”
The UAE currently imports more than 80 per cent of its food.
“We are good producers of high-quality organic food and we can [provide] this service [to] the UAE,” he added.
Both parties will also start students and teacher exchange, with UAE academics travelling to Latvia to teach Arabic.
“Arabic is quite an important course in university,” Mr Vejonis said.
“We see that we sometimes need the Arabic language. At present, different asylum seekers in Europe speak Arabic and it is necessary to interact with them so this will help. It will also help in business.”
Mr Vejonis met Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Sunday to discuss security issues and ways to tackle ISIL.
Latvia became a member of the global coalition against the terrorists in 2014. Two years later, the state increased its military support to the coalition in Iraq.
“In the last two years, it has been a very important problem for Europe. We try to strengthen our borders and cooperate with countries like Turkey, because a lot of asylum seekers come from there and we try to find mechanisms to deal with this.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
