RIGA, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Britain's new Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt made an official visit to Latvia on Wednesday for talks with his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkevics, with bilateral and transatlantic ties, as well as Brexit featuring high on the agenda, the Latvian foreign ministry informed.

Rinkevics said at a joint news conference with Hunt, which followed their meeting in Riga, that diplomatic and economic relations between Latvia and Britain still remained close.

During the talks, the two top diplomats also touched on Britain's forthcoming exit from the European Union, with Rinkevics noting the necessity for all the parties concerned to seek comprise solutions to a number of pressing issues.

"We are unanimous that we need an agreement between the European Union and the UK. Unfortunately, very many issues still remain, which is why I would say that the chance of striking the deal is 50-50," the Latvian foreign minister said, voicing hope that in the weeks to come Britain and the European Commission will succeed in resolving the remaining disagreements concerning Britain's departure from the bloc, such as Northern Ireland's border, governance issues in the Withdrawal Agreement, and the role of the European Court of Justice.

The British and Latvian officials also exchanged opinions about the two countries' cooperation in strategic communication and boosting media independence, stressing the importance of providing reliable and unbiased information to the public.