DUSHANBE, January 15, 2009, Asia-Plus  - President Emomali Rahmon is expected to pay visits to the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in February, according to the Tajik MFA.  It will be his first visit to the Baltic countries.

Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, the MFA information department head Davlat Nazriyev said that the purpose of the visits to the Baltic nations was to discuss issues related to expansion of bilateral trade and economic cooperation with those states.

On February 8-9, Emomali Rahmon will pay a state visit to Latvia, which is supposed to result in signing of a number of cooperation documents.

On completion of the visit to Latvia, the Tajik leader will go to Brussels, where he will attend a session of the European Commission, the MFA spokesman said.

From Brussels Rahmon will go to Lithuania on an official visit and them to Estonia.  Rahmon’s visit to Lithuania will also end with signing of a number of documents on bilateral cooperation, Nazriyev said.

According to figures provided by the State Committee for Statistics, in January-November 2008, Tajikistan’s two-way trade with Latvia, Lithuania ad Estonia amounted to $25.7 million, $99.45 million and some $6.5 million respectively.