On March 9, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who is on an official visit to Latvia, visited the Freedom Monument in Riga to lay a wreath after the meeting with his Latvian counterpart Valdis Zatlers.

Later the same day, Sargsyan met with speaker of the Latvian parliament Solvita Aboltina.

The parties noted that the Armenian and Latvian parliaments have friendly relations and will try to develop them, taking into consideration the outlooks for cooperation.

Mr. Sargsyan said that Armenia is interested in cooperation with the European union and usage of the Latvian experience to bring Armenia’s legislation in compliance with the European standards.

As Yerevan was named World Book Capital 2012 by UNESCO, while Riga will be Europe’s cultural capital in 2014, Sargsyan and Aboltina considered these facts to be favorable for boosting cultural collaboration between the two countries.