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On Thursday, 14 January, in the Grand Vestibule of the Saeima building, Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, opened an exhibition dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Baltic Assembly (BA). Mūrniece emphasised that the strength of the Baltic States lies within unity, underlining the role of the BA in addressing issues of regional importance, such as cooperation in the areas of security and energy, as well as the strategically important implementation of the Rail Baltica project.
“This is a special year, for as of 1 January Latvia is the presiding country of the Baltic Assembly,” said Mūrniece, adding that the BA has been and will remain an important platform for achieving common goals within the region.
Jānis Vucāns, President of the BA and head of the Latvian Delegation to the BA, emphasised the importance of the valuable lessons that the three Baltic States have learned since the founding of the BA, especially in the area of interparliamentary cooperation.
“What concerns our activities in recent years, I would like to mention the growing role of the BA in the international arena, building a bridge between the West and the East, and implementing the Eastern Partnership programme,” said Vucāns, adding that the BA has gained a solid position among the European parliamentary organisations.
The exhibition provides a retrospective on the development of the BA, evaluates its achievements, and provides an enthusiastic outlook on future cooperation. The exhibition at the Saeima will be open until 22 January.
Vucāns was elected the President of the BA in its 34th session held in late November 2015 in Vilnius, Lithuania. On 1 January Latvia took over the duties of the presiding country from Lithuania. The term of the presidency is one year. The parliaments of the Baltic States have agreed on the following parliamentary cooperation priorities that will be at the core of the Latvian presidency: a united, secure and open Baltic region.
About the Baltic Assembly:
The Baltic Assembly is an interparliamentary cooperation organisation of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania established on 8 November 1991. Each national parliament of the Baltic States is represented in the Baltic Assembly by 12 to 20 members of parliament. It is a coordinating and consultative organisation which has a right to express its opinion to the national parliaments and governments of the Baltic States, as well as the Baltic Council of Ministers, in the form of resolutions, decisions, declarations and recommendations; it also has a right to request the above-mentioned bodies to provide information on cross-border issues that are high on the Baltic Assembly’s agenda.
Photos from the event: https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/sets/72157661198958603
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Saeima Press Service