PRESIDENT ABOUT VISIT OF LATVIAN LEADER

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The President Ts.Elbegdorj Thursday held a press conference in the State House and released a communique about the official visit of his Latvian counterpart Mr Andris Berziņs. "Mr Berziņs accepted my invitation and is paying a visit to Mongolia," he said and underlined that their official talks ran in a friendly and open atmosphere. "We have assessed the current state of our bilateral relations and discussed in details the perspectives of the future cooperation, we have exchanged views and expressed our positions on the current issues of international relations," he wen on. Mr Elbegdorj also stressed that the two countries need to intensify their relations and cooperation, and added that Mongolia has been observing Latvia’s efforts and progress in successfully surmounting an economic crisis and firmly embarking upon dynamic economic growth. "Many miles separate our two countries, but we have been supporting each other in international fora on issues of mutual interest, and we have agreed to continue and consolidate our cooperation," he said. "To expand our relations, we need to bring our trade and economic cooperation onto a newer level, and in this regard, I welcome the Latvian businesses, accompanying the President Berziņs on this visit, and commend the holding of a business forum with Mongolian businesses," he said. Then he pointed out that guided by the desire to promote people-to-people relations between Mongolian and Latvian peoples, the two sides emphasized an importance of strengthening cooperation in culture, education and sciences. The Agreements have been signed between the Governments of Mongolia and Latvia on Exemption of Visa Requirements for Holders of Diplomatic and Official Passports, on International Transport by Road as well as the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs as a permanent mechanism in the relations. In recent years the legal basis for the bilateral relations and cooperation has been established and "thus are being further strengthened", Mr Elbegdorj said. The President Berziņs’s meetings with our state and government officials will be fruitful, he hoped.