On 12 September President Edgars Rinkēvičs paid a visit to Balvi Municipality.
The President of Latvia met with the representatives of the Balvi Municipality at the Balvi Municipality museum, while in the Balvi State Gymnasium, he met with the teachers and students of 9-12th grades. During his working visit, E. Rinkēvičs laid flowers at the monument "Staņislavs" dedicated to the fallen soldiers of the Latgale partisan regiment.
"Today I had the opportunity to meet and listen to the residents of Balvi Municipality, businessmen and representatives of local governments to talk directly about the current challenges in Balvi Municipality. During the meeting we discussed issues related to the shrinking population, measures to improve the business environment, necessary investments in road infrastructure, and I also heard the opinion of the people of Balvi on the situation on our country's eastern border. I am convinced that the Balvi Municipality with its nineteen parishes can prove itself as an important centre of Northern Latgale, especially in business, where we are already seeing success in agriculture. This is a good basis for strengthening other production sectors and creating new jobs," said President Edgars Rinkēvičs at the end of his working visit.
Getting to know the business in Balvi Municipality, President Rinkēvičs visited one of the largest seed growers in the Baltic States, the farm "Kotiņi" in Šķilbēnu parish, and the peat processing plant "Compaqpeat" in Briežuciems parish. President Rinkēvičs got acquainted with the work of "Balvi and Gulbene hospital association" Ltd. and Balvi Multifunctional Social Services Centre. At the Culture and Recreation Centre of Balvi, the President of Latvia met with the residents of Balvi Municipality and the Development Council of Latgale Planning Region, heads of municipalities and representatives of the Balvi Municipality Council. During his working visit, the President gave an interview to the Northern Latgale newspaper "Vaduguns".
