Daugavpils authorities intend to promote Belarusian goods in major Latvian retail chains

May 25, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Belarusian goods deserve a wider presence in the retail chains of Daugavpils (Latvia). This point of view was expressed to a BELTA correspondent by the Chairman of the Daugavpils City Council, Jānis Lāčplēsis, who heads the official delegation of Daugavpils, which arrived on a visit to Vitebsk. "Vitebsk and Daugavpils have established good relations in the fields of culture and tourism. We are successfully mastering European funds in the implementation of joint projects. Now is the time to establish economic contacts," emphasized the mayor of the Latvian twin city. A step towards such contacts could be the promotion of Belarusian goods by major Latvian retail chains, which the Daugavpils City Council intends to facilitate. "We are interested in developing relations between our entrepreneurs," added Jānis Lāčplēsis. The Chairman of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee, Viktor Nikolaikin, noted at a meeting with the official delegation of the twin city that Vitebsk's foreign trade turnover with Latvia in 2009 amounted to $42.5 million, or 5.2% of the total foreign trade turnover of the regional center. In the first quarter of the current year, the foreign trade turnover with the neighboring country amounted to $7.5 million. Exports increased by 48.8% compared to the same period last year and reached $2.5 million. The main exporters are Vitebsk Oil Extraction Plant, OJSC "Vitebskdrev". There are 5 joint and foreign enterprises in the city with the participation of Latvian capital with a total authorized capital of $200 thousand. As the mayor of Vitebsk noted, "our relations have huge potential, we have something to learn from each other." The official delegation of Daugavpils will stay in Vitebsk for two days, during which they will familiarize themselves with the work of the confectionery factory "Vitba", OJSC "KIM", SOOO "Marko". A partnership agreement between Vitebsk and Daugavpils was signed in 1998. -0-