Foreign Minister calls for expanding economic cooperation with Malaysia ~ USM Worldwide

On 8 July, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs met with the Foreign Minister of Malaysia Dato’ Sri Anifah Bin Aman, who had arrived in Latvia for and official visit. This was the first visit by a Malaysian Foreign Minister to Latvia since regaining independence, which testifies to Malaysia’s increasing interest in cooperation with Latvia.

The ministers discussed bilateral relations, placing the focus on the intensification of economic cooperation. Alongside the current cooperation in international organisations, both officials expressed the intention of developing cultural and educational links and enhancing the legal framework. An essential part of the relations is also the deepening of contacts between the European Union and Malaysia.

Minister Rinkēvičs recognised that a significant direction in Latvia’s external economic policy was the expansion of cooperation with Asia, and serious effort was being made towards that. This means building closer relations with Asian countries including Malaysia. “Malaysia is one of the most influential members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose rapidly growing economy offers good opportunities in the business sector. Therefore, we are planning to explore and study the business environment and possibilities for significantly increasing Latvia’s business presence not only in the Malaysian market but also in those of all the Southeast Asian countries,” said the Foreign Minister.

Foreign Minister Rinkēvičs also informed the Malaysian Foreign Minister about Latvia’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and joining the euro area as from 1 January 2014. Besides, the minister pointed to the forthcoming highly important events in 2014 when Riga assumes the role of the European Capital of Culture, and in the first half of 2015 when Latvia becomes the country presiding over the Council of the European Union.

UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING

Introduction

What should be the purpose of international cooperation in the field of adult learning? A major thrust of the conference was to shift the emphasis in international cooperation from assistance to one of partnership, participation, networking, and mutuality. The participants in the workshop stressed that these concepts, which are central to adult learning, need to be taken all the more seriously at a time of increasing economic globalisation and accelerating development in the field of information and communications. Like many other conferences, CONFINTEA V proposed the strengthening of international cooperation in adult learning. However, unlike previous conferences, it ensured that international cooperation did not mean simply cooperation between governments, nor the dominance of the North over the South. Care was taken to include NGOs in the process and to maintain a balance of regional interests through a series of preliminary regional meetings.

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