Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, will visit the United States of America and Canada to discuss, in line with Latvia’s foreign policy priorities, the current international situation, the security of the Baltic region, and preparations for the upcoming NATO summit in Warsaw.
In the United States, the Speaker of the Saeima will meet with high-level officials of the Congress, including Senator Orrin Hatch, President pro tempore of the US Senate, Senator Ben Cardin, Co-chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and Senator John McCain, Chair of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Speaker Mūrniece will also meet with officials of the House of Representatives and members of the support group for the Baltic States.
During her visit the Speaker of the Saeima will take part in a round-table discussion on security challenges for the transatlantic community, organised by The Heritage Foundation.
Speaker Mūrniece also plans to meet with the Latvian diaspora and leaders of Baltic organisations in the United States, as well as to attend the 65th anniversary event of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Washington D.C. in Rockville, Maryland, and visit the Church’s Sunday school.
The Speaker of the Saeima will also visit the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C.
In Canada, Speaker Mūrniece will meet with George J. Furey, Speaker of the Senate of Canada, Raynell Andreychuk, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Geoff Regan, Speaker of the House of Commons.
Speaker Mūrniece will also meet with representatives of the NATO Association of Canada and the leaders of NGO Tribute to Liberty, which is working on setting up a memorial in Ottawa for the victims of communism; Latvia has also contributed a donation to this project.
The Speaker of the Saeima will meet with Latvians living in Ottawa and Montreal and visit the Ottawa Peace Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church where she will attend a celebratory event to mark the 60th birthday and 45th work anniversary of Vizma Maksiņa, conductor and leader of the Toronto Latvian Centre’s chamber choir Dzirksts. In Ottawa, Speaker Mūrniece will visit Canada’s Cold War Museum and company Bombardier.
Speaker Mūrniece will visit the United States from 9 to 13 April, and Canada from 13 to 18 April; she is accompanied on the visit by Ojārs Ēriks Kalniņš, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima. On location, the delegation of the Latvian parliament is accompanied by Andris Razāns, Latvian ambassador to the United States, and Juris Audariņš, Latvian ambassador to Canada.
Saeima Press Service