At the invitation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, paid an official visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan on 22 April 2026.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the President of the Republic of Latvia stated the following:
The Presidents reaffirmed the strong foundation of close and friendly relations between Latvia and Azerbaijan and, building on the Strategic Partnership established in 2017, expressed their commitment to further deepening political dialogue, including on international and regional issues of common interest, strengthening inter-parliamentary ties, and enhancing comprehensive bilateral cooperation, building on recent high-level mutual visits, exchanges and agreements across a wide range of areas.
The Presidents welcomed the outcomes of the 9th meeting of the Latvia–Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation, held on 15 April 2026 in Shusha. Emphasizing the importance of economic cooperation in bilateral relations, the Presidents confirmed their interest in further strengthening business-to-business contacts and exploring investment and market opportunities in various sectors, in particular information technologies and digital innovation, green technologies, agriculture and food processing, transport and logistics, tourism, healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry.
In this context, the Presidents highlighted the significance of the Latvia–Azerbaijan Business Forum held on 22 April 2026 as an important platform for fostering new partnerships and concrete cooperation projects.
The leaders emphasised the strategic importance of the European Union-Azerbaijan partnership. The President of Latvia reaffirmed that the Republic of Latvia, as the EU member state, is committed to continue supporting the dialogue and cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU. Both sides expressed readiness to explore opportunities for cooperation within EU-launched initiatives and projects in areas of mutual interest.
The leaders highlighted Latvia’s role as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council (2026-2027) and reiterated their strong commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and to international law, including firm support for the core principles of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Both countries will continue to engage in international fora to further strengthen the strategic partnership.
The Presidents welcomed the historic momentum in the Azerbaijan – Armenia peace process following the outcomes of the 8 August 2025 Washington Summit.
Recognizing the importance of regional connectivity, the Presidents underlined the strategic role of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor linking Europe and Asia. They also welcomed the ongoing efforts on the implementation of the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) and discussed their interest in contributing to the further development of this and other connectivity projects in the region through the expertise and capabilities of their business communities, particularly in the fields of logistics, multimodal transport and digital solutions.
The leaders also discussed the current regional and international issues, including the situation in Ukraine and Middle East.
