At the invitation of the President of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, Janez Janša, the President of the Republic of Latvia, Aigars Kalvitis, is paying an official visit to the Republic of Slovenia today. The purpose of the Latvian Prime Minister's visit is to continue and intensify high-level political dialogue and to strengthen comprehensive co-operation between the two countries at bilateral and multilateral levels.
FOTO: Primož Lavre/Salomon 2000
At the press conference following the bilateral talks, Prime Minister Janša first pointed to the long and friendly relations between Slovenia and Latvia. "We particularly appreciate the Latvian support offered to Slovenia during its most troubled times. Latvia was one of the first countries to recognize Slovenia," said the Prime Minister. He further stressed that, taking into account the geographical distance, co-operation between the two countries has been exceptionally good. After Prime Minister Janša's visit to Riga last September, economic co-operation strengthened as well. In the first three months of this year, economic co-operation grew by as much as 28 percent. "Although the total numbers are relatively small, the trend is very positive and, since both countries belong to the EU economic area, the possibilities increase year by year," stressed the Prime Minister. He also underlined the good cooperation established in other areas. Like Slovenia, Latvia was among the first countries to ratify the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. "In fact, they ratified it during the most difficult period, following the negative referendums in France and the Netherlands, and by doing so showed a lot of courage," said the Prime Minister. We share a similar view regarding the future of the Constitutional Treaty. The Prime Minister added that, in the future as well as during Slovenia's Presidency, we would continue to make every effort to either secure ratification of the proposed Treaty by the rest of the EU countries or to reach a compromise, either of which would take Europe forward.
Next, the Slovenian Prime Minister mentioned that Latvia is hosting this year's NATO Summit. He expressed his anticipation that the meeting would deal with matters of substance and that the Riga Summit would provide answers to topical issues faced by the alliance, which should reaffirm its open door policy. In addition, the discussion should tackle the issue of NATO enlargement, while not altering its policy.
Prime Minister Janša expressed his thanks to Prime Minister Kalvitis for the detailed report on the situation in the Baltics, Ukraine and other countries recently undergoing changes or facing changes at a pace slower than many had anticipated. "With regard to this region, we also share the common belief that NATO and the EU should keep their doors open, which is practically the only realistic and positive alternative for the countries in this region. The same goes for the Western Balkans, where our position on the situation has already been made known and where the situation regarding the perspective is similar," concluded Prime Minister Janša.
Latvian Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis started by underlining the close personal friendship between both Prime Ministers, which is also reflected in the existing friendly relations between the two countries. He agreed that these relations have intensified. "Both countries are small and successful new EU Member States with rapid economic growth, sustainable development and future prospects. Hence, it is essential that close bilateral relations be developed, in particular in the economic area," said Prime Minister Kalvitis. At the same time, he mentioned that both countries have been thriving despite their small size. "During our two-year membership in the EU, I have realized that small countries play an important role in European politics. We can extend our experience to larger and older EU Member States," said the Prime Minister. He invited all new Member States to play a more active role in making the EU more dynamic. He also expressed his satisfaction over Latvia being the host country of the NATO Summit, which is an extremely significant event.
Prime Minister Janez Janša praised Latvia's rapid economic growth. In the first quarter of this year, it totalled as much as 13%. He nevertheless recalled that inflation has become increasingly difficult to control due to the high prices of oil and other energy sources. He expressed his hope that Latvia would enter the Euroarea as soon as possible.
The Prime Minister Kalvitis said it was of significant importance to Latvia to join the Euroarea. It is in Latvia's political interest to make this happen as soon as it is feasible to do so. Latvia meets all the criteria but inflation. "Our goal is to adopt the euro by 2010, if possible sooner. I have invited colleagues from the Baltic States to jointly address this issue; we may attain better results when acting as a region rather than as individual states. I think we have strong possibilities to join the Euroarea immediately after Slovenia. Yet, in which year is still open," concluded the Prime Minister.
