Randjärv met with the new President of Latvia
Today, the Vice-President of the Riigikogu and the President of the Baltic Assembly Laine Randjärv met at Toompea with the new President of Latvia Andris Bērziņš.
Randjärv remarked that besides cooperation in the spheres of economy, energy and transport, parliamentary cooperation is also of great importance. She stressed the need to strengthen the cooperation of the Baltic states so that it would be coordinated both at the parliamentary and government level and the voice of the three small countries would be heard in the European Union. Randjärv explained that she had launched the process of making the work of the Baltic Assembly more efficient by focusing more on the cooperation between the parliamentary committees. It is planned to discuss this issue more thoroughly at the festive session of the Baltic Assembly that will be held in Tallinn in November this year when the 20th anniversary of the beginning of cooperation will be celebrated. “There is no better way than introducing new, more constructive and concrete connections between the parliaments of our countries,” Randjärv stressed. She expressed hope that the President of Latvia would support these proposals to give a new impulse to the relations between the states.
During the discussion, the existing cooperation was touched upon, and the unused possibilities both in preserving the cultural heritage of Estonia and Latvia and organising cultural exchange were pointed out. Bērziņš remarked that he planned to increase the role of the President of Latvia in preserving and developing cultural heritage through close cooperation with the representatives of the sphere of culture. Randjärv said that declaring the year 2013 the year of cultural heritage in all Baltic states was an excellent idea.
Another good possibility to make the relations between the countries more diverse would be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Baltic Way that was a noteworthy and emotional event for the people of our three countries.
Randjärv presented to the President of Latvia the building of the Riigikogu and its history. Bērziņš also made an entry into the guestbook of the Riigikogu.
The Chairperson of the Estonia-Latvia Parliamentary Group Mailis Reps also took part in the meeting.
The Riigikogu Press Service
