“Love brings us together. It is a force that helps overcome the most difficult of times. You have endured harrowing experiences, and our hearts are with you. Children and hardships are never just someone else’s responsibility. We stand together to reaffirm our unity and willingness to support one another,” said Daiga Mieriņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on Thursday, 25 July, welcoming Ukrainian children at the Latvian Parliament. The children are participating in summer camps in Latvia to recover from the horrors of war witnessed in their home regions near the front lines.

It is allied resolve and unity against Russia’s aggression that we expect from the Washington Summit, stated Daiga Mieriņa, Speaker of the Saeima, in Washington, D.C., in her address to the speakers of the parliaments of NATO member states. On the eve of the NATO Summit, the parliament speakers of the Alliance’s member states met in the capital of the U.S. to take a stand on Transatlantic security issues and discuss support for Ukraine.

“Our duty as part of the democratic Western civilisation is to regularly and constantly remind ourselves and others about those pages in history, from which we have the most to learn, to never again allow evil to return,” said Edvards Smiltēns, Secretary of the Saeima, on Thursday, 4 July, at the flower laying ceremony dedicated to the Commemoration Day of the Victims of the Genocide against Jews in Latvia.

“Thank you for your personal contribution in representing Latvia’s interests around the world! We here in Latvia genuinely appreciate the work you are doing,” Daiga Mieriņa, Speaker of the Saeima, said on Monday, 1 July, when meeting with the honorary consuls of Latvia at the Saeima. 

Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima and Head of the Latvian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, is visiting Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, until 3 July, as rapporteur of the Council of Europe together with her Swiss colleague Pierre-Alain Fridez and will meet with the highest state officials, representatives of the parliament, the judiciary, and NGOs.

In a joint statement, members of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly (BA) call for stepping up the cooperation between European countries and rapidly increasing investments to ensure the protection of the region from any military and hybrid threats.

On Thursday, 27 June, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, Head of the Latvian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, chaired a hearing on foreign influence regulation, good practices and European standards organised by the Monitoring and Legal Affairs Committee of the Assembly in Strasbourg.

“You belong to the family of democratic and united countries. The path is not easy, it is full of challenges, and we have made it in the past. It is not just a story about you, it is a story about all the democracies, our collective security, and Ukraine, which are currently fighting for our values. Fighting for peace across Europe,” said Daiga Mieriņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on Wednesday 26 June, welcoming Alen Simonyan, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, to the Parliament.

European security is the most important topic today, therefore Latvia highly appreciates Spain's significant involvement in strengthening the security of the Baltic region, emphasised the Speaker of the Saeima Daiga Mieriņa on Tuesday, June 25, welcoming His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain to the Saeima building. “This is a special event for our countries and is the highest testimony to the excellent relations and cooperation between Latvia and Spain at all levels,” said Speaker Mieriņa, congratulating His Majesty on the 10th anniversary of his accession to the Spanish throne.