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On Thursday, 17 January, while meeting in the main building of the Saeima with Eero Heinäluoma, Speaker of the Finnish parliament, who is currently on an official visit to Latvia, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, pointed out: “Latvia’s and Finland’s cooperation is characterised not only by excellent bilateral relations and active political dialogue on all the levels but also by increasingly close cooperation in the Nordic-Baltic (NB8) format”.

As she welcomed her guest to the Saeima, Āboltiņa particularly highlighted Latvia’s and Finland’s cooperation in the Baltic Sea region and singled out the NB8 format. The Speaker of the Saeima noted that the NB8 cooperation has yielded practical results, such as the practice of pooling the diplomatic missions of the NB8 countries in third countries.

When evaluating the bilateral relations between the two countries, Speaker Āboltiņa said that Latvia’s and Finland’s economic cooperation has been developing very successfully. “Finland traditionally is one of Latvia’s major economic partners. Investors from Finland are among the top 10 direct investors in the Latvian economy.  Finnish investments have also potential for growth,” stressed Solvita Āboltiņa.

The Latvian Speaker also informed her Finnish counterpart on the state of Latvia’s economy, emphasising that sustainability and competitiveness are two cornerstones for the development of Latvia’s economy. “Growth is generated by knowledge-based industries with high added value. We should invest in knowledge and education and should continue to broaden our cooperation in these areas of the economy,” said Āboltiņa. The Speaker of the Saeima also pointed out that Finland is an important partner for Latvia in tourism.

During the meeting, parties also discussed Latvia’s progress in introducing the single European currency. The Finnish Speaker praised Latvia’s achievements in improving the economic situation and stressed that Latvia’s experience is an example for other member states of the European Union. Eero Heinäluoma also said that the experience of Finland as a member state of the euro area shows that the introduction of the single currency and low inflation have ensured low interest rates. The Speaker of the Eduskunta also emphasised that Finland’s accession to the euro area not only was beneficial for enterprises and ordinary people but also encouraged the modernisation of the Finnish economy.

During the meeting, the Latvian Speaker stressed that one of Latvia’s foreign policy priorities for this year is the accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “Latvia is ready to begin the accession procedure in order to become a full-fledged member state of that organisation in the near future,” Āboltiņa noted and thanked the Finnish Speaker for the support provided so far regarding Latvia’s membership in the OECD.

As both speakers discussed negotiations on the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework, Speaker Āboltiņa stressed two main points of interest for Latvia, namely, to maintain at least the same level of financing under the cohesion envelope and to ensure direct payments to farmers that are at least 80% of the EU average.

Āboltiņa also emphasised the importance of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership and stated that Marian Lupu, Speaker of the Moldovan parliament, expressed an interest in hosting a meeting of the speakers of Nordic and Baltic parliaments in Moldova.

As parties discussed regional cooperation, the Latvian Speaker reported that Latvia holds the presidency of the Baltic Assembly this year and pointed out that the priorities of our country’s presidency are competitiveness and economic development, closer cooperation with the Nordic countries, as well as cooperation in implementing energy and infrastructure projects.

The Speaker of the Eduskunta is on an official visit to Latvia on 17 and 18 January. During the visit, the delegation from the Finnish parliament will also meet with Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, as well as Jānis Urbanovičs, Chairman of the Concord Centre parliamentary group, and members of the parliamentary group. Heinäluoma will also meet with Andris Bērziņš, President of Latvia, and Edgars Rinkēvičs, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia.


Photos from the meeting are available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/sets/72157632540235547/
Video from the meeting is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESgLLSsz58s
When using the material, please give credit to the Saeima Chancellery.




Saeima Press Service