On 8 February, President Edgars Rinkēvičs visited Tukums Region. During his visit, E. Rinkēvičs met with the deputies of Tukums Municipality and visited Kandava Agricultural Technical School and Colonel Oskars Kalpaks Vocational Secondary School - the President got acquainted with the learning opportunities available and met with students of both educational institutions. Mr Rinkēvičs also visited the Tukums branch of the State Fire and Rescue Service and was introduced to the business environment at the companies "Pure Chocolate" Ltd, "Lindstrom Prodem" Ltd and "Vilomix Baltic" Ltd. In addition, President Rinkēvičs met with the residents of Tukums Region at Tukums Secondary School No. 2.
"During my visit to Tukums, I observed that the leadership and business community have identified numerous opportunities for advancing the municipality's economic development and the well-being of its residents. These opportunities must be seized upon and translated into actions. Notable manufacturing companies are already operating in this area and all the necessary prerequisites are in place to attract further investment," emphasised President Edgars Rinkēvičs.
At Kandava Agricultural Technical School and Colonel Oskars Kalpaks Vocational Secondary School, the President of Latvia expressed his appreciation for the interest and commitment of young people in acquiring professional skills. "Tukums Region offers promising opportunities for vocational education, which should be further cultivated. Today at Kandava Agricultural Technical School, it was reiterated that Latvian entrepreneurs depend on technical colleges, and technical colleges need entrepreneurs, because vocational education plays a crucial role in our economic growth by preparing specialists who are increasingly in demand. At the same time, the active participation of companies of industry is critical to enhancing the image, prestige and quality of vocational education. This can be achieved by adapting the relevance and flexibility of the educational content to keep up with the times and encouraging capable specialists to devote part of their time to educating the younger generation," noted E. Rinkēvičs. In a conversation with the students at Colonel Oskars Kalpaks Vocational Secondary School, the President of Latvia praised their motivation and determination to pursue their studies and later serve in the Latvian National Armed Forces. President Edgars Rinkēvičs expressed his conviction that many of the students would become future leaders of the Latvian Armed Forces and strong, confident citizens of Latvia, even if they did not choose to pursue a military career afterwards.
The President of Latvia also laid flowers at the monument of the first Foreign Affairs Minister of Latvia Zigfrīds Anna Meierovics and gave an interview to the media.
