On Wednesday, March 2, Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis met the Prime Minister of Estonia, Taavi Rõivas, in Tallinn during his first foreign visit. The two leaders agreed that the Baltic States must speak with one voice at the upcoming Warsaw NATO Summit in July.
"Our three pillars must be the fight against hybrid war, the strengthening of the allied presence and our own defense capabilities," acknowledged the Prime Ministers of both countries at the joint press conference following the meeting.
As regards the security policy and relations with Russia, both the Latvian Prime Minister and Estonian Prime Minister emphasized that Russia's actions are becoming increasingly unpredictable and that NATO must step up efforts to find long-term solutions. "There is no room for complacency; the work should continue," concluded the two leaders. The Prime Minister of Estonia praised Latvia for its convincing progress towards a defense budget increase up to 2% of GDP.
During the discussion, the Prime Minister of Latvia expressed his gratitude on behalf of Latvia for the neighboring country's support for Latvia in negotiations on the accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and expressed hope for support in the final stage of negotiations. The Prime Minister of Estonia said, “We are very much in favour of and follow the accession process of Latvia, because it is very important also for Estonia that Latvia joins this organization."
With regard to the Rail Baltica issue, the two Prime Ministers stressed that successful implementation of the project brings not only practical benefits, but also strong symbolic meaning. Prime Minister Maris Kučinskis confirmed his readiness to actively participate in the supervision of the project and encouraged regular high-level meetings of the Heads of State.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis described the relations between Latvia and Estonia as "an excellent and close bilateral political dialogue with growing economic cooperation."
From 2-3 March, Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis is paying introductory visits to Estonia and Lithuania. In Estonia, the Prime Minister meets with Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas and President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, while in Lithuania - Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius and President Dalia Grybauskaitė. The Prime Minister will also visit the "Kohila Vineer" company in Estonia and factory "Sakret" in Lithuania.
Information prepared by:
Lita Juberte
Press Secretary to the Cabinet of Ministers
Phone: 67082919; 28803639
E-mail: lita.juberte@mk.gov.lv
Andrejs Vaivars
Press Secretary to the Prime Minister
Phone: +371 29228678
E-mail: Andrejs.Vaivars@mk.gov.lv