President of Latvia Egils Levits met with President of the Federal State of Austria Dr. Alexander Van der Bellen in Vienna on 1 July.
Heads of both states congratulated each other on the centenary of diplomatic relations and 30 years since re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Latvia and Austria.
President of Latvia thanked his Austrian counterpart for the excellent climate conference Austrian World Summit, which clearly showed how important it is to make cooperation between policymakers, entrepreneurs and environmentalists closer and more efficient. Participants of the summit also called for more effective communication with general public, which is crucial for states aspiring to meet their climate change mitigation goals.
According to President Levits, Three Seas Initiative is a common platform where Austria and Latvia can work together on environmental issues. Three Seas Summit is scheduled to take place in Bulgarian capital Sofia next week. Three Seas Initiative supports transport, energy and digital infrastructure projects in Central and Eastern Europe aimed at strengthening these networks. Egils Levits invited Austria to take more active role in the Three Seas Initiative.
On the security challenges faced by Europe, President of Latvia told his Austrian counterpart about the outcomes of the recent NATO Brussels Summit. Alexander Van der Bellen said Austria is looking forward to efficient cooperation with NATO and intends to enhance its already successful bilateral defence cooperation with Latvia.
