“We have a similar thinking, we can finish each other’s sentences, we complete one another – in words and in deeds. And we grow strong together!” Daiga Mieriņa, Speaker of the Saeima emphasised on Friday, 18 October, when addressing her Baltic colleagues at the 43rd Session of the Baltic Assembly, which this year was hosted in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
“Security is an area where the Baltic States reach the highest peaks together,” Speaker Mieriņa stressed, highlighting that NATO military presence in Latvia has reached the level of a full-fledged multi-national brigade. “Together with you and other allies, we have taken yet another step towards reinforcing deterrence and defence capabilities on the external borders of NATO,” Speaker Mieriņa said.
The Speaker of the Saeima emphasised that we must continue to increase investments in our defence capabilities, build our national defence industry and raise the capacity of the European defence industry. Speaker Mieriņa also highlighted the need to provide long-term support for Ukraine’s capabilities that will allow Ukraine to defeat the aggressor – Russia: “Hand in hand with our allies, we must create the conditions for lasting peace and security in Europe, integrating Ukraine into NATO.”
The Speaker of the Saeima highlighted that together with Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, next week in Riga the Saeima will host delegations from more than 40 parliaments at the Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform. “In light of our own history and geographic location, for us, supporting Ukraine is a given,” Speaker Mieriņa said, stressing that the policy of the non-recognition of the occupation of the Baltic States has taught us the importance of consistently upholding fundamental values and basic principles of international law.
“Not doubts, compromises and concessions, but rather principled and persistent protection of interests! Two years and eight months after the beginning of Russia’s full-scale military aggression against Ukraine, the atrocities perpetrated by Russia have not broken the courage of the defenders of Ukraine. And neither may we show the slightest hint of wavering in the face of Russia’s aggression,” the Speaker of the Saeima stated.
Speaker Mieriņa noted that we will soon take a crucial step in strengthening our joint resilience – in February the Baltic States will finally synchronise their electricity grids with continental Europe. Among common security issues, the Speaker of the Saeima also highlighted the development of the Rail Baltica project, stressing that our countries must deal with the lengthy list of additional challenges within the project also at the parliamentary level.
“The Baltic States have close cooperation and several wonderful initiatives in the areas of culture, science and linguistics,” Speaker Mieriņa said, and went on to emphasise the need to strengthen the knowledge and use of the Baltic languages alongside the major global tongues, and also attested to Latvia’s interest in promoting the inclusion of Estonian and Lithuanian in school curricula in border areas.
Parliamentarians from the Baltic States have gathered in Vilnius for two days to participate in the annual Session of the Baltic Assembly and discuss issues pertinent for the region and strengthen cooperation between the three states and at a broader scale as well. The main topic that the parliamentarians focused on was the role of the Baltic States in the development of artificial intelligence.
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Saeima Press Service