The inauguration commenced with the lighting of the ceremonial Lamp by Prime Minister H.E Mr.Maris Kucinskis, H.E. Mr Aivars Groza, Ambassador of Latvia to India; H.E. Mr Andrej Pildegovics, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mr Kaspars Ozolins, State Secretary, Ministry of Transport; Capt Avinash Batra, Hon.Consul ; Mrs Usha Batra and Ms Ashima Aga.
Virtual inauguration of the Honorary Consulate office followed thereafter and Plaques exchanged.
Prime Minister H.E Mr.Maris Kucinskis& H.E. Mr Aivars Groza, Ambassador both complimented Capt Batra and wished him, his family and the entire consular team a great success.
Capt Avinash Batra, whilst humbly accepting the compliments and honours bestowed, assured the Prime Minister Mr.Maris Kucinskis & Ambassador Mr Aivars Groza, of his best endeavours to further the cause of beneficial cooperation between Republic of Latvia and India.
Earlier during the day on 4th Nov, PM Mr Kučinskis participated in the Latvia-India Transport and Logistics Conference titled ‘Latvia: India’s Gateway to Europe and CIS countries’, organised by “The Council of European Chamber Of Commerce in India”, which was well attended by a large gathering of Indian trade & Industry.
Whilst in Mumbai, Latvian Prime Minister H.E Mr Maris Kucinskis accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Latvian Ambassador to India Mr Aivars Groza, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Mr Andrejs Pildegovics, Prime Minister’s Office head Mr Maris Krastins, Foreign Affairs Advisor Ms AndaCatlaka , Press Secretary Mr Andrejs Vaivars, India’s Ambassador to Latvia H.E Ms Monika K. Mohtaand Honorary Consul of Latvia in Maharashtra Capt. Avinash Batra, called on Honourable Governor of Maharashtra Mr C. V. Rao at the Raj Bhavan, and discussed matters of mutual interest between the Baltic countries and Maharashtra.
The visiting delegation, then visited Jawaharlal Nehru Port. Deputy Chairman, Shri Neeraj Bansal,IRS, JNPT welcomed Latvian delegation and took the them for a detailed port tour to showcase port operations and various ‘Ease of doing business initiatives’ implemented. Further in the meeting, Shri Bansal appraised the delegation about the strategic and customer‐oriented “Sagar Mala” initiative of the Government of India to modernize India’s Ports to contribute to India’s growth.
He also gave brief presentation on the salient features of the port and expressed his keen desire to strengthen bilateral trade relations with the two countries.
Prime Minister of Latvia H.E. Mr Maris Kucinskis said, “Our relationship with India started far earlier approximately 1000 years ago. This visit is going to be a turning point in the relationship between the two countries. We have developed facilities for storage and food and already started food processing units in Latvia by having joint venture with Indian partner. We are focussing on transport and logistics. Importance of building direct link and establishing direct contact through ports will establish close relations between two countries”.
The Latvian delegates also presented their excellent capabilities in Global EXIM trade by being the Gateway to Russia, Scandinavia and CIS states through their Railway system.
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