Upon welcoming the King of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, to the Saeima on Monday, 11 June, Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, expressed her appreciation for the friendly ties, active political dialogue and economic cooperation between Latvia and the Netherlands. She also underlined the symbolic timing of His Majesty’s visit, as it coincides with Latvia’s centenary celebrations.

Speaker Mūrniece praised the economic cooperation between Latvia and the Netherlands. The Netherlands is among Latvia’s top trading partners and foreign investors. Cooperation in transit and logistics is also on an upswing. Such areas as biomedicine and ICT also have a potential for future cooperation.

The Speaker of the Saeima thanked the Netherlands for the country’s vital contribution in strengthening security in the Baltic region, namely, the Dutch involvement in the NATO enhanced Forward Presence in Lithuania, participation in Baltic air-policing mission, posting of experts to the NATO Force Integration Unit in Latvia, and involvement in the NATO Strategic Communication Centre of Excellence.

King Willem-Alexander and Speaker Mūrniece also discussed the challenges stemming from hybrid threats. The King of the Netherlands and Speaker Mūrniece both concluded that cyber security is of great importance in minimising attempts to undermine democratic processes in European countries.

The Speaker of the Saeima expressed her appreciation for the regular political dialogue between Latvia and the Netherlands, including such formats as the European Union, Baltic Assembly and Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) Interparliamentary Consultative Council.

The meeting with the King of the Netherlands was also attended by Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima; Jānis Dombrava, Deputy Chair of the Saeima Sustainable Development Committee; Aleksejs Loskutovs, Chair of the Group for Interparliamentary Relations with the Netherlands; and Igors Zujevs, Member of the Group for Interparliamentary Relations with the Netherlands.

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Saeima Press Service