Latvian President Valdis Zatlers and Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis will respectively attend the opening and closing ceremonies of the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games, the Latvian Olympic Committee said Wednesday.
The Committee sent a letter to the Chinese embassy in Riga to confirm the two leaders' intention.
Also on Wednesday, President Zatlers, during a meeting with outgoing Chinese ambassador Zhang Limin, said he has all along maintained the plan and decision to attend the Olympics' opening ceremony, which will be held on the evening of Aug. 8.
Andris Pelss, Zatlers' counselor on foreign policies, said on March 24 that Zatlers would go to some venues to cheer for Latvian athletes besides attending the opening ceremony.
On the same day, a spokesman for Prime Minister Godmanis said Godmanis would go to watch the Beijing Olympics if time permits.
(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2008)