Latvian-Russian economic cooperation commission to meet.

RIGA, July 29 (Itar-Tass) - Riga will host the third meeting of the
Latvian-Russian intergovernmental economic cooperation commission on
Wednesday. The parties will consider issues of economic cooperation and
improvements of the contractual basis between the countries, a
representative of the press service of the Latvian Foreign Ministry told
Itar-Tass.

The Latvian and Russian officials will also discuss the expansion of
cooperation in the field of transport and transit. Among other issues is
the work of the joint demarcation commission and cooperation in the field
of displaced cultural-historic valuables.
The parties are expected to sign agreements on canceling double
taxation and on protecting investments.
The co-chairman of the economic cooperation commission for Russia,
Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin will meet with Prime Minister
Valdis Dombrovskis, Economics Minister Artis Kampars and Transport
Minister Kaspars Gerhards.
The pervious session of the commission took place in Moscow in
mid-November 2008.
Levitin, in an interview with the Latvian newspaper "Chas," noted that
the level of political relations was important for the commission's work.
"Taking part in the commission's work are representative of the
executive branch, so the level of political relations between our
countries is very important. But economic issues are the priority for our
commission," Levitin said.
He noted the importance of the humanitarian aspect in inter-state
relations, i.e. the cooperation in culture, science, and education.
As of now, the economic cooperation commission is coordinating some 20
agreements. The key accords are the agreements on canceling double
taxation and on protecting investments.
"The implementation of the agreement on social protection remains very
important for us. This document concerns people of pension age, and its
significance increases during the crisis," the Russian transport minister
said.
"We are also working on cooperation in tourism, environmental
protection, visa regime, science and education. It should be noted that
the countries have difference legal-contractual bases, so the conclusion
of bilateral agreements takes time," he added.
According to Levitin, the global economic crisis temporarily removed
the problem of huge queues on the Latvian-Russian border.
"The crisis temporarily removed the transport problem on the border,
but this gives us a chance to adapt our infrastructure to larger volumes
of cargo and faster shipments," the Russian transport minister said.
The crisis influenced the volume of imports to Russia via Latvia.
"Before the crisis began, more than half of imports came to Russia by
motor transport. This indicates that we're not developing the potential of
sea ports and railway transport," he said.
Levitin also noted that for a long time, Russia had no opportunities
to give to business the proper cargo transportation conditions, such as
created by the former Soviet Union created in the Baltic region and
Ukraine.
"Today, we're creating alternative projects, which allow our business
to select the most comfortable and least expensive terms. Let business
choose," he underlined.
Meanwhile, the participants in a session of the Russian-Latvian
Business Council (RLDS) on Tuesday called for creating a common economic
environment and boosting two-way trade.
"The creation of a common economic environment is one of the most
important conditions in the sphere of entrepreneurship," said Vitaly
Gavrilov, president of the Latvian confederation of employers.
To this end, Latvia and Russia have to sign a number of bilateral
accords, in the first place the agreement on canceling double taxation and
an agreement on protecting investments.
In his view, the countries that are part of the European economic zone
should develop cooperation with Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and
Caucasian countries.
Gavrilov believes Russian-Latvian trade can increase by five times
within the next few years.
On Tuesday, Riga mayor Nil Ushakov met with Kirov region governor
Nikita Belykh for economic cooperation talks.
Belykh said his province was interested in imports of food and seafood
from Latvia, and that local entrepreneurs wished to set up joint
wood-processing companies and benefit from the experience of Latvian
breweries.
For his part, Ushakov said Riga was ready to develop extensive
economic ties with Russian towns and regions.
The Latvian capital has to attract new flows of tourists, increase
cargo flows and facilitate entrepreneurship, he noted.
"Riga's self-rule may help establish contacts between business people
of both countries and begin cooperation. Assistance to entrepreneurs is
one of the priorities of the Riga legislature. We are interested in
developing the exports of products made in Riga, and stimulating the city
economy," the mayor said.