On Friday, 29 November, Raimonds Vējonis, President of the Baltic Assembly addressed the participants of the 32nd Session of the Baltic Assembly and the 19th Baltic Council, pointing out that the success of the three Baltic States depends on closer cooperation between the parliaments and the executive power, streamlining of the decision-making procedures and joint strategies for issues that cannot be efficiently solved individually.
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On Friday, 29 November, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, hosted a meeting with Ene Ergma, Speaker of the Estonian parliament, and Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, and invited them to the grand opening of the European Capital of Culture on 17 January 2014, when Richard Wagner’s opera Rienzi will be staged in the Latvian National Opera as a part of the opening of “Riga 2014”.
Solvita Āboltiņa meets with Lithuanian Speaker (29.11.2013.)
On Thursday, 28 November, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, met with Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, who visited the Saeima during her working visit to Latvia, where she is participating in the 32nd Session of the Baltic Assembly and the 19th Baltic Council. This is the first visit of the Speaker of the Seimas to Latvia and to the Saeima.
Baltic parliamentarians will convene in Riga for the 32nd Session of the Baltic Assembly (27.11.2013.)
Events of the 32nd Session of the Baltic Assembly will be held on 28–29 November in Riga, giving a chance for the Baltic parliamentarians to address strengthening of cooperation in areas such as tourism, combating of organised crime, research and innovation, as well as establishment of a digital single market. During the Session, the Baltic Assembly will also award its prizes for literature, the arts and science, as well as medals for strengthening the unity of the Baltic States.
On Friday, 22 November, during a meeting of the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima when priorities of our presidency were broadly discussed for the first time in Latvia, Chairperson Zanda Kalniņa Lukaševica stressed: “The involvement of NGOs and social partners, as well as the importance of business competitiveness, cannot be forgotten when concluding work on the priorities of Latvia’s presidency of the Council of the European Union. Communication strategy has to be addressed in order to make the principles and priorities of our presidency understandable to everyone.”
Speaker conveys heartfelt condolences to the bereaved relatives of the victims of the supermarket tragedy (22.11.2013.)
Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on behalf of the parliament, expressed sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of the victims of the tragic roof collapse of a supermarket in Zolitūde.
Āboltiņa at the ceremonial sitting of 18 November: We have to love the Latvia of today for what it is and what it can be (18.11.2013.)
“Latvia is a concrete state, and its patriots must act accordingly. We cannot love an abstract former or future Latvia. We have to love the Latvia of today for what it is and what it can be,” said Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on Monday, 18 November, when addressing the participants of the ceremonial sitting held at the Saeima in honour of the 95th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia.
Honourable President of Latvia,Honourable Prime Minister,Honourable Members of the Saeima,Ministers,Excellencies,Ladies and gentlemen,
On Sunday, 10 November, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, while on a working visit to the United States of America, attended a church service at the Yonkers Church of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation of New York, as well as met with the New York Latvian community and greeted it on Lāčplēsis Day.
“November is a special month for Latvia because that is when we celebrate the birthday of our state. This month has another important date, namely, 11 November, or Lāčplēsis Day. Our country was only one year old when it had to undergo a dreadful ordeal because our recently established state of Latvia was close to being taken away from us. It took great heroism to protect our country. Although we were hopelessly outnumbered, people still had faith and were ready to sacrifice the most precious thing they have, namely, their lives.” This was said by Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on Thursday, 7 November, as she opened the schoolchildren’s photo exhibition My Lāčplēsis Day in the main building of the Saeima. The exhibition shows Lāčplēsis Day through the eyes of a schoolchild and reveals what this commemorative day means to young people.