During the meeting held on Friday, November 29, Prime Minister of Latvia Krišjānis Kariņš and Prime Minister of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini discussed bilateral relations of the two countries, current agenda of the European Union, as well as security policy issues.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for excellent bilateral relations. Latvia and Slovakia are like-minded countries and close cooperation partners in the European Union and NATO.
Latvia and Slovakia share common understanding of today's risks to global security, and both parties believe that Transatlantic Unity and NATO play an indispensable role for European and global security. The countries are actively working on strengthening and improving their defence capabilities, by gradually increasing resources to build up the capacity of military forces. One of the visible signs for this is Latvia’s defence budget, which has reached 2% of gross domestic product since 2018.
The Prime Minister expressed his appreciation and gratitude to Slovakia for its contribution to the strengthening of our region’s security. Slovakia has sent 152 soldiers to Latvia as part of NATO's expanded presence.
The officials acknowledged that one of the most pressing present challenges is the struggle with misinformation. K.Kariņš thanked Slovakia for joining and supporting the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence.
The Prime Ministers recognized Latvia’s and Slovakia’s shared interest on many EU issues, including the European Union's external and security policy, the Single Market and the multiannual budget.
"We have confirmed our common conviction: cohesion policy is of great importance for Latvia and Slovakia, and it is important to continue it. We have to jointly promote the development of not so wealthy regions – it is in the interest of all EU countries,” explained the Prime Minister.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Prime Minister of Latvia and Prime Minister of Slovakia paid a visit to the Adaži Military Base.
PHOTOS are available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/valstskanceleja/albums/72157711986895553
VIDEO is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNXjKtvkJ8A&feature=youtu.be
Sandris Sabajevs
Press Secretary to the Prime Minister
Phone: 67082865, Mob.: 22087726
E-mail: Sandris.Sabajevs@mk.gov.lv