From today’s point of view, the railroad project Rail Baltica is no longer just a convenient passenger link with Western Europe. Its strategic importance is increasing from a security perspective, as an artery for transporting military cargo in case of need, noted Edvards Smiltēns, Speaker of the Saeima, during his visit to Warsaw, capital of Poland, where he underlined the need for the Baltic states and Poland to develop joint infrastructure projects of strategic importance.
Today, continuing the official visit to Poland, the delegation led by the Speaker of the Saeima met with Tomasz Grodzki, Marshal of the Senate of Poland, and Robert Telus, Chair of the Polish-Latvian parliamentary cooperation group.
We are living in a time of tectonic shifts, as the Soviet empire is collapsing totally. Together, we must use the opportunities provided by this era to open a new page in the history of our region and exit this crisis together, becoming stronger, said Smiltēns to his Polish colleagues.
The Speaker of the Saeima emphasised that Polish soldiers, together with troops from Latvia and other NATO countries in the Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup, defend the security of the Baltic region and Latvia. Smiltēns also thanked Poland for its participation in the Baltic Air Policing mission and underlined that the people of Latvia highly appreciate the Polish contribution.
The participants of the meeting agreed that, nowadays, countries of the region are closely linked together and Polish security is inconceivable without a free Ukraine and the Baltic states, and vice versa. Currently one of the most important tasks is to achieve complete independence from Russia’s energy and ensure stable gas and electricity networks with the West.
The participants appreciated the large mutual trade volume, which has already exceeded 2.6 billion euros this year. Nevertheless, there is still large potential for cooperation; Latvia is a secure location for Polish investments, and we envision new cooperation opportunities in many areas, including renewable energy, digital technology, research and innovation, expressed the Members of the Saeima.
The Speaker’s delegation to Poland is comprised of Rihards Kols, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima, Juris Viļums, Deputy Chair of the Committee, and Irma Kalniņa, Secretary of the Committee, as well as Andris Sprūds, Chair of the European Affairs Committee, and Linda Matisone, Chair of the Economic, Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Policy Committee.
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Saeima Press Service