"Poland is a trusted friend and strategic partner of Latvia, with whom we can expand our cooperation even further, not only in the fields of security and defence, but also in the area of financial services and economy as a whole," emphasized Prime Minister Evika Siliņa during her meeting with the Polish colleague Donald Tusk held within the framework of her working visit to Warsaw on Thursday 29 February.
At a joint press conference of the two Heads of Government, E. Siliņa stressed that this was her first bilateral visit to Poland, while good cooperation had already been established with Mr Tusk at the European Council and in other formats.
"Poland is our close strategic partner. We are also like-minded and share values and interests. We see great potential for enhanced cooperation in areas such as financial services, energy and transport - our common goal is to connect the capital cities of Latvia and Poland with the Rail Baltica railway tracks. We will both continue to be among the loudest voices calling for additional military support for Ukraine to win the war against the invader. We also discussed Latvia's experience in banning imports of Russian and Belarusian agricultural products into our country. I am pleased that the Polish Prime Minister has expressed his willingness to explore Latvia's solution, with a view to its potential introduction in Poland," said E. Siliņa.
The two officials highlighted the need for effective and balanced solutions to the farmers' protests and demands in the European Union. They also addressed security issues, the importance of increased military support to Ukraine and strengthening the defence industry in the EU, the international situation and developments in Moldova, as well as common efforts to counter the hybrid threats from Russia and Belarus. The parties also focused on the ways to expand economic cooperation and the synchronisation of the Baltic countries' electricity grids with Europe's.
The Prime Minister informed about the Latvian-UK-led drone coalition, which several countries have joined with the ambition to supply Ukraine with one million drones.
The Prime Minister met with representatives of Polish commercial banks - Bank Pekao and PKO Bank Polski, with whom she discussed the Latvian financial services market and potential opportunities for new market players in Latvia.
E. Siliņa laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw and met with the staff of the Latvian Embassy in Poland, expressing gratitude for the professional representation of our country's interests.
