Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga will visit Israel from Feb. 19-22, with stops in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Nazareth, the president’s press office has announced.

She is expected to meet with Israeli President Moshe Katsav and other government officials in an effort to broaden Latvian-Israeli dialogue in politics, economics, science and culture.

The president also is to meet in the Embassy of Latvia in Tel Aviv with members of the Latvian expatriate community in Israel.

Latvia and Israel established diplomatic relations in 1992, according to the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The president will accompanied by Economics Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, Finance Minister Oskars Spurdziņš and Agriculture Minister Mārtiņš Roze, as well as by 58 represenatives from Latvian business and members of the Latvian Historians Commission.

Interviews of the president are planed with the Jerusalem Post and Ha’aretz newspapers and with the TV 1 channel of the state-run Israel Broadcast Authority.