Press statement of the President of Latvia after the meeting with President of the Swiss Confederation Mr Alain Berset

I am delighted to welcome H.E. Federal President of the Swiss Confederation Mr Alain Berset and his spouse to the state visit. We are honoured that the visit of the President of Switzerland takes place at a time when we celebrate the centenary of the Republic of Latvia. This visit is a testimony to friendly relations and diverse cooperation between Latvia and Switzerland.

I would like to thank Mr Berset for the valuable exchange of views on the aspects of bilateral cooperation between our countries, the most critical issues on the European Union, security policy, and other items of the international agenda.

If we are talking about cooperation between Latvia and Switzerland, we really identify great prospects by developing cooperation projects, first of all, in bioeconomy, biomedicine, smart materials, and smart energy, information and communication technologies. Moreover, we are happy about successful co-operation in culture, education, and science, for example, the exhibition dedicated to Rainis and Aspazija will be opened at the new premises of the City of Lugano Historical Archive.

That confirms the statement that historically Switzerland has been a close friend and partner of Latvia. Also, as we have discussed with Mr President, at the beginning of the 20th century, representatives of Latvian intelligentsia enjoyed the asylum Switzerland had offered to develop the idea of the statehood of Latvia. We are grateful to remember Switzerland’s firm stance by not recognising the incorporation of Latvia into the Soviet Union and the fact that Switzerland was among the first countries to resume diplomatic relations with our country in 1991.

At the same time, we definitely appreciate Switzerland’s support for the national development, democracy, and rule-of-law strengthening processes of Latvia. Since the early 1990s, bilateral relations between Latvia and Switzerland have become considerably broader and more diverse. Our countries maintain regular political dialogue and fruitful cooperation in international organisations. In the context of the relations between the European Union and Switzerland, we are working together to solve substantial issues for Europe.

We have concluded that this cooperation between Switzerland and Latvia is very essential, and we definitely observe very much potential for further collaboration.

Once again, Mr President, thank you again for your visit to Latvia and cooperation!