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On Tuesday, 24 May, during her working visit to Berlin, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, met with Norbert Lammert, President of the Bundestag, and declared that the relations between Latvia and Germany are active and dynamic on all levels and that Latvia is interested in continuing their close cooperation.
“This year we will mark the 20th anniversary of the restoration of Latvia’s de facto independence. Two decades have passed since Latvia and Germany restored diplomatic relations. During these years, we have achieved a lot. Together with Estonia and Lithuania, we are the only former Soviet republics that have returned to the European family of nations; we are full-fledged member states of NATO and the European Union. During all this time, Germany has been giving invaluable support to our country,” stressed the Speaker of the Saeima. “The far-sighted German motto, ‘Germany is the advocate of the Baltic States’, to a large extent determined Latvia’s success in strengthening democracy, the rule of law and the economy, as well as in becoming a full-fledged member state of the European Union and NATO,” emphasised Speaker Āboltiņa in her talks with the President of the Bundestag; she also thanked him for his unwavering personal support during Latvia’s accession to the EU.
Āboltiņa confirmed that maintaining close relations between the Baltic States and Germany is still our country’s foreign policy priority and that Latvia is interested in strengthening strategic cooperation.
Speaker Āboltiņa pointed out that the two countries have established a close political dialogue as attested by a regular exchange of visits on the parliamentary and governmental level. A notable example is last year’s visit to Latvia by Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany.
Participants of the meeting discussed stability of the euro area, and Āboltiņa confirmed that Latvia’s goal is to introduce the euro in 2014. Both sides stressed the importance of energy independence for all of Europe. “Latvia is also looking for ways to diversify its sources of energy because right now we are totally dependent on the sole supplier, namely, Russia. This is why we are trying to establish interconnections with the Nordic countries; we are still actively considering the construction of a joint Baltic nuclear plant in Lithuania; Latvia is also actively working on a liquefied natural gas terminal,” said the Speaker of the Saeima.
While discussing economic cooperation, Āboltiņa stated that Germany is one of Latvia’s most important economic partners and that during these years, cooperation in trade has become stable, intensive and dynamic; nevertheless, this area still has some unused potential.
Solvita Āboltiņa also thanked Norbert Lammert for the international parliamentary internship programme offered by the Bundestag because it has enabled more than 50 young people from Latvia to undergo in-service training at the German parliament and to learn more about the political life and traditions of this country. She was pleased to note that this year will be the second time that the Saeima will reciprocate by offering German students an opportunity to undergo in-service training at the Saeima.
Participants of the meeting agreed that relations between the two countries are complemented by close cooperation in culture and education, as well as cooperation with the non-governmental sector and local governments. The Goethe Institute has become one of the most visible and popular cultural institutions in Latvia. Another promising project is the transformation of the Wagner Concert Hall into the Centre for German Culture, Research and Economics.
From 23 to 25 May, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, is on a working visit to the Federal Republic of Germany.
Saeima Press Service