Interviewed by Irina Malkova MAGAZINE "RUSSIAN EMIRATES" ONE OF THE FIRST REPRESENTS THE TEMPORARY ATTORNEY IN THE MATTERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA IN THE UAE, Mr. RUDOLFES BREMANIS. WORKING FOR SEVERAL YEARS IN THE USA, AND THEN IN AFGHANISTAN, RUDOLFS ARRIVED IN THE EMIRATES IN AUGUST OF THIS YEAR, TO DEVELOP THE RELATIONS OF TWO COUNTRIES AT A BASICALLY NEW LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT.
Rudolfs, we congratulate you on your appointment. What first steps do you intend to take in the United Arab Emirates as a charge d'affaires of Latvia?
Rudolfs: First of all, I want to say that Latvia is opening its representative office in the Emirates for the first time, so this is a historic moment. I have many tasks before me, but the main goal is to develop economic ties between our countries, to establish relations between business companies, within the diaspora, to become a link between the UAE government and Latvian business. In the future, we plan to open an embassy in Latvia in Abu Dhabi, which will oversee issues throughout the Middle East.
How are relations between Latvia and the UAE developing now?
Rudolfs: An important event was the launch of the direct flight Riga - Abu Dhabi of the Latvian airline AirBaltic, which immediately brought relations between countries to a different level and increased tourist flow. Also on March 22, 2014, it was decided to abolish the visa regime for Latvian citizens at the entrance to the territory of the United Arab Emirates. In addition, since 2013, the Convention on the avoidance of double taxation between Latvia and the UAE has been in force, which is an important basis for cooperation.
What character are the economic ties between the two countries?
Rudolfs: The economic turnover of Latvia with the Emirates is about 20 million euros. We export wood - our "green gold", which is one third of the export. The figure is small, but still this is something. In this regard, my task is to help as many Latvian enterprises enter the Emirates market as possible. The territory is not very familiar to us, but the prospects are good, so opening a representative office is a strong and sure step. In addition, I plan to find large investors who would be interested in developing business in Latvia, for example, to build five-star hotels in our country, which are still lacking.
Which Latvian companies are already represented in the Emirates?
Rudolfs: In September, two Stenders stores open in the Emirates - these are high-quality body and hair care products, including soaps and shampoos, which have already gained worldwide popularity. It must be said that Latvia cannot compete with India and China in the number of manufactured goods. Therefore, we can only take quality. It is better to do something smaller, more expensive, but very high standards. In this regard, we are learning from Scandinavia. We also produce fine Lyme chocolate at our largest chocolate factory of the same name, which intends to expand the supply zone of its products in the Middle East region in the near future. Tell us a little about yourself.
Rudolfs: I am 31 years old, and for 11 years I have been working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For the past two years I have been in charge of the department for the development of foreign economic relations between Latvia and the countries of the world. Before that, he worked for four years in Washington as an adviser to the Ambassador for Economic Affairs, then for some time in Afghanistan as a political adviser, where he certainly gained interesting experience. In general, since childhood I knew that I would become a diplomat.
All diplomats speak foreign languages well. What languages do you speak?
Rudolfs: I know Latvian, Russian, English, German and a little bit of French. Now I have begun to study Arabic.
How many Latvians now live in the UAE?
Rudolfs: Maybe the figure is not very big, but several hundred Latvian citizens definitely live in the UAE. I must say that the diaspora is very active and dynamic. These are mainly qualified specialists who work in large companies such as Etihad Airways, Emirates Airline and others.
Do you plan to develop cultural exchanges between countries?
Rudolfs: I’m working on this issue, as from January 1, 2015 Latvia will become the EU presidency for six months, which will be a good reason to “show ourselves”, including in the cultural aspect. So now I’m thinking about various events, including exhibitions and concerts in the Emirates of classical and variety performers, for example, singer Linda Lin and pianist Vestard Shimkus. In addition, as a professional basketball player, I believe that sports are a good tool for networking. This initiative may include, for example, friendly football matches between representatives of the Baltic countries in the region.
