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.

On Thursday, 20 September, in the second and final reading the Saeima adopted the amendments to the Law on National Referendums, Initiation of Legislation and European Citizens’ Initiative, thus providing national legislation with a legal framework which enables the general public to take part in shaping the policy of the European Union.

Latvia and Germany have close and friendly relations on all fronts, and it is in the interest of both countries to strengthen these ties. This was emphasised by Solvita Ābotiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on Monday, 17 September, when she met with the delegation of the German – Baltic Parliamentary Friendship Group of the German Bundestag.

Along with the parliaments of 11 other EU member states, the Saeima succeeded in making the EU withdraw the proposal for a regulation on the exercise of the right to take collective action within the context of the freedom to provide services, commonly referred to as the Monti II Regulation.

On Thursday, 13 September, the Saeima adopted in the final reading amendments to the Law on the State Budget for 2012, thus supporting allocation of more than 88 million lats for priority measures in such areas as transport, health-care, welfare, interior affairs, culture and education, as well as funds for several other initiatives.The amendments were adopted with 88 votes for, none against and 2 abstaining.

Turkmenistan is a promising partner for our country in Central Asia, and all the necessary prerequisites exist in order to develop closer economic cooperation, emphasised Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on Tuesday, 11 September, when meeting with the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, in the main building of the Saeima.