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Today, on October 31, Aigars Kalvītis, Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia, started his working visit to the United States of America and met Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State of the USA.
During the meeting the Prime Minister emphasised: „We see the United States as a partner and ally in many areas of the foreign policy and security of our country which is also demonstrated by the current intense cooperation.”
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rica expressed her gratitude for the ratification of the Border Agreement between Latvia and Russia and expressed her hope that the next step – exchange of the ratification documents – would also be successful. The Prime Minister thanked for support of Latvia’s allies with regard to signing and ratification of the Border Agreement and stressed: “I am gratified that concerning the Border Agreement between Latvia and Russia we have completely identical views on such matters as sovereignty, state continuity and continuous diplomatic relations of 85 years.”
Aigars Kalvītis informed the U.S. Secretary of State about Latvia’s foreign policy priorities by putting special emphasis on the development of the neighbourhood policy in the Black Sea region, Caucasus region and Central Asia. Latvia and the USA have great opportunities for joint projects in the above regions; therefore intense dialogue is needed at the level of experts and politicians.
The Latvian Prime Minister acknowledged dynamic bilateral relations of Latvia and the USA which is evidenced by frequent exchange visits, and pointed out to the visit of Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary of State of the United States, to Latvia which took place the previous week.
The sides also exchanged views on topical foreign policy issues, as well as on the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq. Another focus was on patrolling the air space of the Baltic States and on NATO infrastructure projects. Aigars Kalvītis presented a report on involvement of Latvia’s armed forces in international operations and on the relevant future plans.
The Prime Minister also drew attention to the issue of the visa-free regime between Latvia and the USA. A.Kalvītis proposed to start more detailed discussions on joining the U.S. visa-free programme together with all those EU Member States which meet the respective criteria.
Jana Vektere
Consultant
Communication Department
State Chancellery
Phone: 67082919, mob. ph.: 29244699
E-mail: Jana.Vektere@mk.gov.lv
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