From 4 till 6 April, Latvia will host a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly (PA) of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). The meeting will bring together the heads of national parliamentary delegations of NATO member states to discuss, among other issues, strengthening ties between national parliaments and NATO.

“The world is currently facing the greatest security challenges since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Therefore, it is especially important that Latvia is a full-fledged member of NATO alongside 27 other member states. We are equal partners, and we have the opportunity to express our opinion and share our experience in seeking solutions to current security threats,” says Ojārs Ēriks Kalniņš, Head of the Latvian delegation to the NATO PA; Kalniņš also expresses gratification that the Standing Committee’s meeting in Latvia is taking place at such a significant time - the 10th anniversary of Latvia’s joining NATO.

Kalniņš also emphasises that Latvia has already proved its ability to host high-level meetings of NATO as it organised the Spring Session of the NATO PA in Riga in 2010. “To this day, when meeting with delegates from parliaments of other NATO member states, I still hear only praise for the Spring Session hosted by Latvia. I am certain that this meeting of the Standing Committee will not be an exception,” says the Head of the Latvian delegation to the NATO PA, stressing that this is the parliamentary dimension of NATO, where member state parliamentarians formulate their positions before the upcoming NATO summit.

It is planned that the NATO PA Standing Committee will also be addressed by Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima.

The Latvian delegation to the NATO PA consists of six MPs – Ojārs Ēriks Kalniņš, Head of the delegation, permanent representatives Ivans Klementjevs and Kārlis Krēsliņš, as well as substitute representatives Iveta Grigule, Sergejs Potapkins and Romualds Ražuks.

The NATO PA Standing Committee meets three times per year in one of the NATO member states. This year the spring meeting of the Standing Committee is being hosted by Latvia. Almost 100 delegates are expected to arrive in Latvia for the meeting.

The NATO PA was founded in 1955 as an advisory interparliamentary organisation which unites the parliamentarians of NATO member states. By serving as a bridge between NATO and the legislatures of its member states, the NATO PA helps to maintain parliamentary and public support for the policies of the Alliance.

The 2010 Spring Session of the NATO PA took place in Riga.

Saeima Press Service