Bilateral diplomatic and economic relations between East Asia and the new EU members: The case of Latvia

Abstract

As the result of historical, political and geographical reasons, Latvia’s relations with the East Asia are a new field of study. Even though the diplomatic and economic relations between Latvia and the East Asian countries have not been significant, the volume of trade and cooperation in other fields has been increasing particularly with China, Japan and Singapore. Latvia’s joining the EU will impact this cooperation in different ways. Mostly it will give more opportunities for Latvia to build fruitful diplomatic and economic relations with the East Asian countries. This explorative research will examine the current state of the bilateral diplomatic and economic relations between Latvia and the East Asian countries (ASEAN, Japan, China, and South Korea) as well as clarify future trends, particularly related to the effects of the accession of Latvia to the EU. This is one of the first researches in this field and is intended for those interested in bilateral relations between the new EU’s members and the East Asian countries, as well as for those analyzing the consequences of the EU’s enlargement on these relations.