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On Friday, 9 March, members of the parliaments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania met in Ventspils for a parliamentary seminar of the Baltic Assembly (BA) to discuss the creation of a single cooperation platform of the Baltic States for developing research, technologies and innovations.
The goal of the seminar is to take a look at the best practices in cooperation among European countries in order to understand how the Baltic States can pool their resources for boosting competitiveness in the global market, said Jānis Vucāns, Vice Chairman of the BA Education, Science and Culture Committee, in his opening address.
The Baltic States need to find their own area of excellence. Studies indicate that the most promising innovation and research areas for the Baltic States are biochemistry, physics, environment studies and biopharmaceutics, stressed Vucāns.
MPs listened to the presentations on multi-country cooperation in developing innovations and research. The presentations were given by representatives of the European Union Innovation Centre, the Nordic research cooperation organisation NordForsk and a German information and technology centre. A representative of the Baltic Association of Science/Technology Parks and Innovation Centres (BASTIC) also spoke on existing cooperation among the Baltic States.
MPs and other participants of the seminar also learned how technologically advanced projects are implemented in practice. They visited the Ventspils High Technology Park and SIA Dendrolight Latvija that uses high technology to produce innovative wood materials.
The seminar on Sustainable and Integrated Baltic Research and Innovation Area was attended by five members of the Saeima: Jānis Vucāns (Union of Greens and Farmers), Juris Viļums (Zatlers’ Reform Party), Ņikita Ņikiforovs (Concord Centre), Atis Lejiņš (Unity) and Dāvis Stalts (All for Latvia and For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK).
During the 30th Session of the Baltic Assembly held on 24–25 November 2011 in Tallinn, members of the parliaments of the Baltic States defined the developing of an innovative and competitive economy of the Baltic States as one of the priorities of the Baltic Assembly for 2012. The Resolution of the Session stresses the short-term and long-term agenda of cooperation of the Baltic States in the sphere of economy and finance and emphasises that the Baltic States have to collectively mobilise their resources for promoting innovation.
Information about the BA:
The Baltic Assembly is an inter-parliamentary cooperation organisation of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania established on 8 November 1991. The Baltic Assembly consists of national delegations – 12 to 20 members from each country’s parliament. The Baltic Assembly is a coordinating and consultative organisation. It has the right to express its opinion in the form of resolutions, decisions, declarations and recommendations to the parliaments and governments of the Baltic States and to the Baltic Council of Ministers. It also has the right to request information from these entities on how cross-border issues, which are a priority on the Baltic Assembly’s agenda, are being dealt with.
Photos from the seminar are available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/sets/72157629181939100/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdkmVifdjX8&context=C4249e03ADvjVQa1PpcFOm0CDMFABv3JipOdsD_9SMpE_rGgzCfk4=
When using the material, please give credit to the Saeima Chancellery.
Saeima Press Service