On Friday, 28 September, Hendrik Gerrit Cornelis van den Dool, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of Latvia, was welcomed by Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on his first visit to the Saeima. During the meeting, Solvita Āboltiņa called on the Dutch Ambassador to support Latvia’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Both parties also discussed the enlargement of the euro area.

On Friday, 28 September, the Saeima organised the traditional Open Door Day, which attracted almost 2,000 visitors who were keen to wander the halls of the main building of the Saeima, learn about the interior design and explore its history. They were also offered an opportunity to learn more about parliamentary work and civic participation.

On Friday, 28 September, the Joint Judging Committee convened in the Saeima to evaluate nominees for the Baltic Assembly Prizes, and it unanimously decided to award this year’s Prize for Literature to Aivars Kļavis for his tetralogy On the Other Side of the Gate (Viņpus vārtiem).

On Wednesday, 26 September, the outline for Latvia’s priorities during its presidency of the Council of the European Union was presented at the Saeima. Žaneta Ozoliņa, Professor at the University of Latvia, and Inga Skujiņa, Head of the Presedency Secretariat, informed the Steering Committee for planning the parliematery dimension of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union about the conclusions drawn from the ten thematic discussions held earlier this year.

“In the 21st century, distance does not matter; what matters is mutual interest in establishing relations, willingness to look for cooperation partners and implement new projects. Considering Uzbekistan as a strong cooperation partner in the fields of transport, transit and logistics, I would like to acknowledge that Latvian entrepreneurs’ interest in developing new economic relations has remained high even after the economic crisis. Taking into account the growth capacity of both countries, the potential for mutually beneficial cooperation in the future is great,” stressed Andrejs Klementjevs, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, on Wednesday, 26 September, during the meeting with Elyor Ganiev, Minister for Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

On Tuesday, 25 September, Andrejs Klementjevs, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, within the framework of his working visit to Uzbekistan, had meetings with Diloram G. Tashmukhamedova, Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Ilgizar Sobirov, Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan. During the meetings, Klementjevs stressed that in the Central Asia region Uzbekistan is an important and promising cooperation partner for Latvia.

“In the 21st century, distance does not matter; what matters is mutual interest in establishing relations, willingness to look for cooperation partners and implement new projects. Considering Uzbekistan as a strong cooperation partner in the fields of transport, transit and logistics, I would like to acknowledge that Latvian entrepreneurs’ interest in developing new economic relations has remained high even after the economic crisis. Taking into account the growth capacity of both countries, the potential for mutually beneficial cooperation in the future is great,” stressed Andrejs Klementjevs, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, on Wednesday, 26 September, during the meeting with Elyor Ganiev, Minister for Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

On Tuesday, 25 September, while on a working visit to Uzbekistan, Andrejs Klementjevs, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, signed a cooperation memorandum between the interparliamentary relations groups of Latvia’s and Uzbekistan’s parliaments.

This week, the British-Latvian All-Party Parliamentary Group led by Christopher Pincher is visiting the Saeima. During the meetings held on Monday, 24 September, issues such as interparliamentary cooperation between Latvia and the United Kingdom, as well as economic development, were addressed.

“People participate in elections when they trust their political leaders, when they are aware that their votes can make a change and if they appreciate the value of democracy in their well-being,” said Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, when addressing her counterparts during the discussion on the future of representative democracy held at the European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments on Thursday, 20 September. The Conference is currently taking place in Strasbourg, France.