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On Wednesday, 22 August, Edvards Smiltēns, Speaker of the Saeima, met with John McKay, Chair of the Standing Committee on National Defence of the House of Commons of Canada, and his delegation. Speaker Smiltēns thanked Canada for its commitment to expand its military presence in Latvia and to form a combat-capable brigade. This summer Latvia and Canada signed a common road map to strengthen Canada-led allies’ presence in Latvia with specific tasks and time frames.

Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, highlighted Canada’s leadership in the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup in Latvia, and stressed that the people of Latvia were also aware of Canada’s contribution to the protection of our country and appreciated it.

When discussing the challenges posed by the Russian aggression and invasion of Ukraine, the Speaker of the Saeima emphasised that Russia had committed its physical assault against Ukraine, but the hybrid warfare is taking place also against other countries. “Russia’s goal is not just Ukraine or the Baltic States. It is trying to influence various processes, including election results, also in other territories,” said Smiltēns, stressing that we must act with equal force to face Russia in the information warfare. “Only together we are strong in protecting our values,” said the Speaker of the Saeima.

The parties agreed on the significant potential of the Latvian diaspora, which should be used more in explaining to Canadian society why support for Ukraine and strengthening Latvia’s security is currently so important. Kalniņa-Lukaševica noted that the Latvian diaspora is interested in engaging more actively and encouraged to strengthen joint coordination so that the message can be spread as widely as possible. Some 28 000 Canadians of Latvian origin currently reside in Canada, and there are around 50 Latvian diaspora organisations, associations and congregations registered in the country.

Smiltēns emphasised Latvia’s achievements in strengthening our security, inter alia, highlighting the adopted the Law on Establishing the Selonia Military Training Area, the establishment of the State Defence Service, as well as the ongoing construction of the strategically important Rail Baltica project. At the same time, Smiltēns underlined that military cooperation is only a part of the key to success, and encouraged Canada to expand economic cooperation as well.

Today, Raimonds Bergmanis, Chair of the Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee, and Irma Kalniņa, Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Committee, also met with the Standing Committee on National Defence of the House of Commons of Canada.

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Saeima Press Service