In his meeting with new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland Mr Pekka Haavisto, President of Latvia Egils Levits has emphasised that Latvia and Finland are friends not only in the past, but also in the present, and in the future. Mr Haavisto stated that the people of Finland knew Latvia well and chose different Latvian cities as tourist destinations frequently.
President Levits have stressed that Finland can count on support for the priorities of Finnish Presidency in the Council of the European Union, including mitigation of climate change. The President of Latvia informed that Latvia was one of the eight EU Member States that came with the initiative to achieve EU’s climate neutrality by 2050. “Our country will be active on these issues, and it is also my personal position,” added Egils Levits. Mr Haavisto noted that the project Rail Baltica would also contribute to the sustainability and greener everyday life of the countries.
Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs conveyed the greetings of President of Finland Niinisto to E. Levits, saying that President Niinisto was expecting his colleague to visit Finland on August 28 this year. President Levits thanked for the invitation by stressing that he would be delighted to meet.
Mr Levits expressed gratitude to Finland for its involvement in the release of a Latvian citizen currently on board the Iranian-detained ship Stena Impero.
Both parties highly appreciated the close regional cooperation among the Baltic and Nordic countries or in the so-called NB 8 format. Mr Haavisto noted that Finland paid particular attention to environmental issues of the Baltic Sea and cooperation between the countries in this area.
Concerning the issues of security and information space in Europe, Mr Haavisto praised the operation of STRATCOM in Latvia and welcomed the opportunity for Finland to participate in the operations of the Centre.
