On Wednesday, 10 October, while meeting with Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, Miroslava Němcová, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, expressed her support for Latvia’s goal of becoming a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 

During the meeting, the Speaker of the Saeima remarked that currently an important issue on Latvia’s agenda is the enlargement of the OECD: “Among our foreign policy priorities is the accession to the OECD in the next wave of its enlargement. Latvia is eligible to become a full-fledged member of the organisation according to the criteria and financial requirements that the OECD has set.” The Speaker of the Saeima expressed Latvia’s readiness to contribute to the work of the OECD, considering the experience our country has gained in implementing reforms and achieving rapid economic growth. 

“Parliamentary cooperation is one of the fundamental pillars in the relations between Latvia and the Czech Republic; the active cooperation among sectoral committees and interparliamentary cooperation groups proves this. It will be especially important in the near future when we will have to defend common interests in negotiations about the new EU’s multi-annual financial framework for 2014 – 2020,” Āboltiņa emphasised. 

During the meeting, Āboltiņa also stressed that this year marks the 90th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Latvia and the Czech Republic. The Speaker of the Saeima characterised the relations between the two countries as very good and multifaceted. “Latvia and the Czech Republic have a good partnership within the European Union and NATO; however, bilateral cooperation and mutual consultations are the foundation that makes our relations especially close,” Āboltiņa said. 

The Speaker of the Saeima confirmed Latvia’s interest in developing cooperation with the Czech Republic in areas of mutual interest, including cooperation between the local governments of both countries, as well as education and culture. Āboltiņa expressed gratification that there are Latvian-Czech associations in both countries, and she confirmed Latvia’s interest in expanding cooperation between the science academies of both countries. 

On 9 and 10 October, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, is on an official visit to the Czech Republic on an invitation from Miroslava Němcová, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic. This is a return visit following Němcová’s official visit to Latvia in April 2011. 


Saeima Press Service