On December 4, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. Orsha and Marupe, Latvia, are establishing economic cooperation, as reported to BELTA by Oleg Smirnovsky, Deputy Chairman of the Orsha City Executive Committee. Representatives of the Marupe region are on their first official visit to Orsha. "Previously, no business contacts linked us. Through the Consulate of Latvia in Vitebsk, we reached out to the leadership of the Marupe municipality and arranged a business visit. It was decided to focus primarily on establishing economic contacts," noted Oleg Smirnovsky. The Latvian delegation, which arrived in Orsha on December 3, includes representatives of the largest enterprises in the Marupe region and entrepreneurs, including the owner of Aneira LLC, Chairman for Development of the Marupe Council, Chairman of the Board of the Association for European Project Management EPVA, and a member of the Board of Riga International Airport, among others. The guests' intensive programme includes visits to approximately 15 major enterprises in the Orsha region: specifically, the flax mill, the grain processing plant, the garment factories "Svitanak", "Nit", "Dynamo Program Orsha", the handicraft factory, open joint-stock companies "Orshasyrzavod", "Orshastroy materialy", the "Legmash" and "Krasny Borets" plants, and the reinforced concrete products and structures plant. "Representatives of the Marupe region have already had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with some of the enterprises yesterday. They showed particular interest in the garment and construction companies," emphasised the Deputy Chairman, adding that a cooperation agreement is expected to be signed upon the conclusion of the visit on December 5. The trade turnover between Orsha and Latvia for January-September of the current year amounted to over $1.3 million, which is four times higher than in the same period of 2011. Orsha's industrial enterprises supply bedding, tablecloths, kitchenware, and various types of fabrics (RUPTP "Orshansky l'nkombinat"), casein (Orsha Dairy Plant), and cutting tools (OJSC "Orshansky instrumentalny zavod") to Latvia. -0-

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