RIGA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Swiss President Alain Berset and First Lady Muriel Zeender-Berset arrived in Latvia on a visit on Monday to reaffirm close cooperation and good bilateral relations between Latvia and Switzerland, local media informed.
After meeting with Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis, Berset said he would like economic exchange between Latvia and Switzerland to become even closer and that promoting this cooperation was one of the goals of his visit to the Baltic country.
Switzerland was one of the first countries to restore diplomatic relations with Latvia when it regained independence in 1991, and the Swiss president's visit to Riga became yet another confirmation of the good relations between the two countries, Berset said.
Vejonis said after talks with his Swiss counterpart that Latvia was especially interested in cooperation with Switzerland in bio-medicine, bio-economy, IT, education and science.
While discussing banking security and combating money laundering, which is currently a hot topic in Latvia, the Swiss and Latvian officials agreed they could share their experiences, especially Switzerland, whose banking sector is the cornerstone of the country's economy.
"This is homework each country has to do in its financial sector, and we were unanimous that the transparency of the financial sector, as well as the prevention of the financing of unlawful activities, are important to all European countries," said Vejonis.
