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Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, during her official visit to Italy, met with Pietro Grasso, President of the Senate, whom she urged to deepen the economic cooperation between Latvia and Italy. Āboltiņa noted that Latvia is acceding to the euro area on 1 January 2014, which clearly attests to the country’s macroeconomic stability and its movement towards sustainable development. 

The Speaker of the Saeima also stressed that the World Expo Exhibition, which will take place in Milan, Italy, in 2015, will be a splendid opportunity to strengthen the economic ties between Latvia and Italy, as well as to facilitate collaboration among the entrepreneurs of the two countries. 

During the meeting, Solvita Āboltiņa and Pietro Grasso discussed issues related to the financial and economic crisis, as well as unemployment risks in Europe. The Speaker of the Saeima told her Italian counterpart that thanks to the understanding demonstrated by the people of Latvia regarding the need to carry out austerity measures, Latvia is successfully implementing fiscal discipline, and now it is the second fastest growing economy in the European Union. 

During the meeting, both officials also discussed cooperation among the trio of Italy, Latvia and Luxembourg in the framework of the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Currently Latvia is actively preparing for its first presidency by focusing on developing the trio programme, setting priorities for its presidency, and training personnel; it is already clear that one of the main priorities of the Latvian presidency will be the Eastern Partnership and issues concerning Central Asia. 

Solvita Āboltiņa told her Italian colleague that Riga’s status as the European Capital of Culture in 2014 will open up opportunities to strengthen the cooperation between Latvia and Italy in culture and tourism by inviting artists from Italy to visit Latvia and to introduce their national culture here. 

Solvita Āboltiņa and Pietro Grasso also talked about the necessity to strengthen the rule of law because a true democracy can be ensured only if the country is governed by the rule of law. 

From 15 to 18 December Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, is on an official visit to Italy, where she is meeting with Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies, and Pietro Grasso, President of the Senate. During her visit to the Vatican, Āboltiņa will have an audience with His Holiness Pope Francis and father Lombardi, Director General of Vatican Radio. 


Photos from the visit are available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/sets/72157638730034676/
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Saeima Press Service