On 19 July, President Edgars Rinkēvičs visited Lithuania. During his official visit, the President of Latvia met with the President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda and the Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen to discuss the decisions taken at the NATO Vilnius Summit, the security of the Baltic region, energy security issues, as well as opportunities for strengthening cooperation between Latvia and Lithuania.
‘Latvia and Lithuania are close partners with an active political and economic dialogue. Our countries share common interests, especially in strengthening security and defence capabilities, ensuring energy security and independence of the Baltic region and providing all forms of support to Ukraine. The two countries also share a common European Union (EU) and NATO agenda,’ said E. Rinkēvičs.
President Rinkēvičs took the view that Lithuania is a valuable partner in security and defence cooperation. ‘The NATO Vilnius Summit should be seen as a success for our region and global security. This Summit will go down in history as an important step in the NATO-Ukraine partnership. We will stand by Ukraine for as long as necessary, providing all necessary bilateral support. NATO must also ensure Ukraine's long-term security and ability to deter Russia from repeated aggression,’ underlined President of Latvia.
President Rinkēvičs pointed out that cooperation between Latvia and Lithuania contributed greatly to regional unity and development and is of decisive importance in the current geopolitical circumstances. ‘We value all existing formats of our cooperation and coordination on important regional and international issues. Active and united Baltic coordination is crucial in the current geopolitical situation. Therefore, I would like to work closely with Lithuania for the benefit of the trilateral cooperation of the Baltic States,’ the President of Latvia affirmed.
During the official visit, the parties discussed the possibility of expanding cooperation in energy, transport and infrastructure projects.
During the visit, there was also an exchange of views on the current situation in the implementation of the project to synchronise the electricity transmission system of the Baltic States with the continental European grid. E. Rinkēvičs expressed the view that pragmatic and coordinated action by all three Baltic States is essential in this matter.
