Azerbaijan, Latvia hold first consular consultations in Riga

The first round of consular consultations between Azerbaijan and Latvia took place in Riga on February 19, with officials discussing plans to expand bilateral cooperation, advance the digitisation of consular services, and strengthen coordination on migration, justice and law enforcement.

According to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, the Azerbaijani delegation was led by Emil Safarov, Head of the Consular Department, while the Latvian side was headed by Agnes Kalniņa, Director of the Directorate for Consular and Diplomatic Affairs at Latvia’s Foreign Ministry. Representatives of Latvia’s Border Guard and Migration Board also attended, alongside a representative of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, Caliber.Az reports. 

The consultations focused on the current state and future prospects of cooperation in the consular sphere, including the potential signing of new bilateral agreements. Both sides discussed improving service delivery through digital solutions and exchanged views on expanding multilateral and bilateral cooperation in justice, migration, education and law enforcement.

Following the consultations, the Azerbaijani delegation met with Kaspars Āboliņš, Deputy State Secretary at Latvia’s Ministry of the Interior. The meeting addressed the expansion of ties between the internal affairs agencies of the two countries and the further development of the legal framework governing cooperation in this field.

By Sabina Mammadli