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On Wednesday, 1 February, Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, met at the Saeima with Marek Kuchciński, Speaker of the Polish Sejm, who, accompanied by a delegation, is in Latvia on an official visit. Speaker Mūrniece noted that defence and security issues are at the heart of the cooperation between Latvia and Poland, that the two countries are close allies, and that Poland is one of Latvia’s most important partners within NATO.

Speaker Mūrniece thanked Speaker Kuchciński for Poland’s commitment to our security: its involvement in the regular patrols of the Baltic airspace, participation in the international NATO battalion, and willingness to send forces to the Baltic States as part of the Visegrad Group initiative. “Latvia and Poland share dynamic and active bilateral relations, including at the parliamentary level. Currently, our main task is to implement the NATO Warsaw Summit decisions, which includes providing all necessary support for the ally presence here,” Ināra Mūrniece said.

Both speakers of parliament agreed that today, in the face of various security challenges, including hybrid threats, cooperation between the two countries within NATO, as well as the European Union (EU) is crucial. Speaker Mūrniece emphasised Latvia’s commitment to continue investments in defence, including the development of infrastructure. She noted that Latvia is committed to reach 2% of GDP in defence spending next year.

Speaker Mūrniece and Speaker Kuchciński were of the same mind that all EU member states need to stand united on issues related to the security and future of the Union. In addition, they both stressed that the EU must remain a union of independent states. Speaker Mūrniece noted that the EU needs to speed up its work on solving the common challenge of migration.

Ināra Mūrniece expressed her appreciation for the collaboration with the Polish diaspora, a socially very active part of our society. She said that the Polish voice resonates clearly in Latvia.

From the Latvian side, the meeting was also attended by Ainars Latkovskis, Chair of the Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee of the Saeima, Laimdota Straujuma, Chair of the Sustainable Development Committee, and Ilgvars Kļava, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to the Republic of Poland.

Marek Kuchciński is accompanied on the visit by Wojciech Skurkiewicz, Chair of the Polish-Latvian parliamentary friendship group, Barbara Bartuś and Kazimierz Kleina, the Deputy Chairs of the Polish-Latvian parliamentary friendship group, as well as Ewa Dębska, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to the Republic of Latvia.

Photos from the meeting: https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/albums/72157677731496972
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVKgIqt2SXY
Disclaimer & copyrights: https://www.saeima.lv/en/copyrights

Saeima Press Service