FOREIGN POLICY EVENTS AND CHRONOLOGY
IN BRIEF
On 16 March, the President of Latvia received a letter from the Prime Minister of Iceland, Halldor Asgrimsson. In his letter the Prime Minister expressed his support to the President's decision to attend the May 9 celebration event in Moscow: "Your decision to participate in the celebration event in Moscow is a sign of your strong vision for a peaceful and better Europe, in which Latvia will play an important role." The Prime Minister also pointed out that: "It is true that Russia has to come to terms with its past and admit the atrocities of the Soviet regime." Vaira Vike-Freiberga has also received a letter from the President of Croatia, Stjepan Mesic. In his letter the President of Croatia expressed deep understanding of the double nature of the feelings Latvia had in regards to the end of the World War II, as well as congratulated the President of Latvia on her decision to attend the May 9 celebrations in Moscow. On 18 March, the President of Latvia, V.Vike-Freiberga, received a letter from the President of Switzerland, Samuel Schmid, sent in reply to the President's letter related to the end of the World War II and the future of Europe. In his letter the President of Switzerland expressed deep understanding of Latvia's history: "In your letter you have revealed the different nature of the course of history of both countries during the last century. Switzerland admires greatly the bravery, perseverance and achievements of your country." President's Chancery (12.03.2005) (18.03.2005) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (16.03.2005) (18.03.2005)
Joint Press Release of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of the United States of America in Riga, Latvia On 17 March 2005, the first meeting of the Latvian-American Bilateral Consular Working Group was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riga. The Working Group will meet on a regular basis to discuss issues of mutual concern and to work toward greater cooperation in all consular fields. The first meeting was inaugurated by Under Secretary of State Andris Teikmanis of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by United States Ambassador Catherine Todd Bailey. During the meeting the main subject discussed was Latvian participation in the visa roadmap process announced by U.S. President George W. Bush in Bratislava on February 24, 2005. The visa roadmap will provide a framework for the Latvian and United States governments to work together toward the goal of meeting the requirements for Latvia to join the U.S. Visa Waiver Program. This process will not change the program's requirements, but it will intensify cooperation between the two countries in meeting the legal requirements for Latvia to join the program. The group agreed to hold regular meetings in Riga and to work towards a meeting in Washington, DC this fall. While this process is at work, the United States Embassy wishes to encourage Latvians to continue to visit the United States for tourism, study, and business under the current visa regime. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (17.03.2005)
Baltic foreign ministers meet in Riga On 12 March 2005, a meeting of the Baltic foreign ministers was taking place in Riga. Latvian minister Artis Pabriks, Lithuanian minister Antanas Valionis and Estonian minister Rein Lang, who is coming to this meeting for the first time since his appointment, discussed future prospects for cooperation. The ministers also addressed current issues related to Russia, including practical matters such as the possibilities to sign interstate agreements, as well as the assessment of history and the further coordination of activities towards explaining the history to the international public. The ministers also exchangeed opinions on the current developments within the European Union. Estonian and Lithuanian foreign ministers have arrived in Riga to open the 2nd basketball tournament, in which four foreign ministries - Baltic and Finnish - are participating. Last year the tournament took place in Tallinn. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (11.03.2005)
On 10 March 2005, the 15th meeting of the EU foreign ministers and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) took place in Jakarta, Indonesia. At the meeting, Latvia was represented by the Under-Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andris Teikmanis. This was the first time that Latvia and the other "new" EU countries participated in the dialogue between the EU and Southeast Asian countries. Latvia considers its involvement in these talks as particularly topical since it coincides with the EU's efforts to intensify and expand its relations with the Southeast Asian region, which has become one of the EU's main global trade partners. For Latvia, it is a chance to establish contacts with a region boasting a dynamic economy, a huge growth potential and a rich cultural heritage. The meeting's agenda included both current issues of EU-ASEAN bilateral cooperation, as well as today's international issues. The participants of the meeting agreed unanimously that the EU-Southeast Asian cooperation is developing well and shows a clear trend of expansion, particularly over the last few years, leaving the confines of economic collaboration and spanning new sectors such as combating terrorism and international crime, security matters, environmental protection, science, and education. Both parties are also interested in developing a political dialogue. The participants emphasized that the tsunami disaster that stroke the Southeast Asian region last December has brought the European and Southeast Asian countries considerably closer, since both sides suffered substantial casualties. ASEAN representatives expressed gratitude for the timely assistance their countries received from Europe, which saved many lives that would otherwise be lost. When discussing the further cooperation in eliminating the tsunami devastation, the parties agreed that all assistance to the region should be coordinated and it should answer the exact needs of each recipient country. Both European and Asian representatives expressed support for the introduction of an early warning system in the region. The international issues discussed in the meeting included the current situation in the Middle East, Iraq and the Korean Peninsula. Opinions regarding Myanmar were also exchanged. While in Jakarta, Under-Secretary of State Teikmanis visited the Indonesian Chamber of Trade and Commerce and the Jakarta Container Terminal, and gave an interview to the Indonesian TV. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (11.03.2005)
On 16 March 2005, a communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Latvia and the Republic of Guyana was signed at Latvia's permanent mission to the UN in New York. The communiqué was signed by temporary Charge d'Affaires to the UN in New York, Aiga Liepina, on behalf of Latvia, and by temporary Charge d'Affaires to the UN, George Wilfred Talbot, on behalf of the Republic of Guyana. After signing the communiqué, both parties agreed to continue work towards developing cooperation between the two countries and their missions. The possibility of mutual support in the elections of UN structures, as well as preparation for the UN 2005 summit was discussed. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (17.03.2005)
Foreign affairs experts discuss the new threats and challenges of the 21st century On March 11, the conference "A safer world – our joint responsibility. A view from Latvia" was held at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia. The main objective of the conference was to focus the attention of foreign affairs experts and students to the globalisation issues in the world and the way they are related to the situation in Latvia. The conference was organised by the UN Development Programme in Latvia and UN Information Centre in conjunction with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the University of Latvia. It was attended by various state officials and foreign affairs experts. The conference dealt with the analysis of the report made in December last year by a panel of experts convened by the UN Secretary General. The report on the threats, challenges and changes faced by the countries of the world in the 21st century would form the basis of the UN reform and affect the course of discussions related to international security. As pointed out by the UN officials, for the first time ever the situation in the report had been reviewed from various points of view affecting the whole mankind. The conference comprised various lectures and discussions related to the main subjects dealt with by the UN report including collective security, terrorism threats, poverty and economic and social threats, the threat of infectious diseases and epidemics, preventive threat elimination measures and liabilities of the member countries. As pointed out by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Artis Pabriks, in his speech addressing the conference, terrorism and collective security would still be listed among the most essential international policy issues in the coming decades. LETA (09.03.2005); (11.03.2005) Local elections in Latvia On 12 March 2005, there were the regular local government elections – elections of city, district and rural municipalities (pagasti) councils. According to the data provided by the Central Elections Commission the total of 749,710 or 52.85% electors participated in the elections. The highest total number of registered electors had been in Balvi Region, which constituted 62.05% electors. Whereas, the lowest total number of registered electors had been in Jelgava constituting 44.36% electors. The Riga City Council elections had been attended by 51.3% of the total of the registered inhabitants of Riga holding legitimate rights to vote. Largest number of votes in the Riga City Council had been gathered by the "New Era" (JL) party, voted for by 36,681 or nearly 18% of the inhabitants. JL is followed by four other parties – political organisation association "On human rights in a united Latvia" (PCTVL), Latvia's Social Democratic Worker's Party (LSDSP), People's Party (TP) and association "For Motherland and Freedom"/LNNK" (TB/LNNK), which had collected similar number of votes. The provisional election results show that in the largest cities and towns the majority of votes has been won by the parties in power at the moment. Central Election Commission on Latvia (15.03.2005) LETA (12.03.2005) (13.03.2005) BNS (13.03.2005)
The main responsibilities of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council will be to facilitate the cooperation among the government institutions in the areas related to Latvia's participation in the European Defence and Security Policy and NATO, prepare proposals reflecting Latvia's position with regard to the EDSP and NATO political and military issues, as well as facilitate the development and implementation of Latvia's defence and security policy. It will be ensured that the government institutions provided the Council with the relevant information through the Ministry of Defence. The Council will also be entitled to suggest working out such regulations that are relevant to Latvia's successful participation in the EDSP and NATO. The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council will comprise the Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance and Minister of Transport. The Council will be managed by the Prime Minister, but during his absence – the Minister of Defence. Based on consulting rights, the Commander of the National Army, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and Director of Defence Bureau of the Satversme (Latvia's Constitution) will be participating in the work of the Council. Other officials and experts may also be invited to attend the Council meetings to act as consultants. The Statutes of the Council were announced during the meeting of State Secretaries and submitted for approval to the Ministries of Finance, Justice, Foreign Affairs and Transport and the Chancellery. The Cabinet of Ministers (17.03.2005)
DEFENCE ISSUES
Latvian Army Commander discusses the Baltic air space surveillance issues with Austrian colleagues From March 11 to 13, the Commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces, Vice Admiral Gaidis Andrejs Zeibots, was on a working visit to Austria. During the visit the Commander met with Chairman of the GHQ of the Austrian Army, General Roland Ertl, to discuss the Baltic air space surveillance issues. The Commander of the Latvian Armed Forces was also informed about the structure, assignments and development priorities of the Austrian armed forces. During the visit the Commander also met with the Austrian Minister of Defence, Günter Platter. Ministry of Defence (17.03.2005)
From March 14 to 25 this year, a round of the BALTRON (squadron of the Baltic mine layers) training will be held in the territorial waters of Latvia, in the vicinity of Liepaja and Ventspils. The training event will involve the participation of the HQ and procurement ship of the Latvian marine forces A53 "Virsaitis" and mine detecting ship of the Estonian marine forces "Wambola". The main objectives of the training are as follows:
There will be 3 phases of training:
Ministry of Defence (09.03.2005) Fiscal surplus in the total state budget increased by 3 million The trend affecting the general state budget since January this year has also been ongoing in February leading to a 3.1 million Ls increase of fiscal surplus in the general state budget. According to the official report on the fulfilment of the total state budget in January – February provided by the State Treasury the total fiscal surplus in the total state budget has now reached 30.8 million Ls. The total budget income in the first two months amounted to 454.9 million Ls, which is 111 million Ls more than during the same period last year. The total budget spending, in its turn, amounted to 441.5 million Ls. In February the total budget income amounted to 222 million Ls, while the expenditure was 219.2 million Ls. The state budget income in January – February this year amounted to 361.5 million Ls, which is 81 million Ls more than last year, but the spending totalled to 365.6 million Ls. The fiscal surplus has amounted to 13.1 million Ls. The fiscal deficit in the special state social insurance budget has decreased by 4.4 million Ls leading to 11.4 million Ls, which is due to the fact that the income in February exceeded the expenditure – 57.2 million Ls versus 52.8 million Ls. The social budget deficit in the state budget has been compensated by the 25.1 million Ls fiscal surplus in the general state budget. The total social budget income in the first two months of this year amounted to 112.6 million Ls, which is 15.4 million Ls more than the total social budget income for the corresponding period last year. The total social budget expenditure in January – February this year was 124 million Ls. The municipal budget income in the first two months of this year has amounted to 130.2 million Ls, which is 35 million Ls more than last year, while the spending has amounted to 110.9 million Ls. The fiscal surplus in the municipal budget amounted to 18.1 million Ls. Ministry of Finance (16.03.2005) The Baltic Energy Forum held in Vilnius From March 17 to 18, the regional Energy Forum was held in Vilnius. The event was attended by the management of electric energy power companies from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia and Belarus. The executives discussed national power sectors' development plans and activities for raising safety of power supply. The issue of integration into the European Union (EU) power market was also included on the agenda. LETA (17.03.2005)
Latvia's advertisement goes on air on CNN On March 15 this year, a special Latvian promotional campaign was launched on TV channel CNN. The campaign provides for broadcasting of the new Latvia's promotional clip during various CNN programmes. Both the production of the clip and the whole campaign was organised by the State Tourism Development Agency (TAVA) with the purpose to advertise Latvia as a tourism-friendly country. At the request of TAVA, the video clip was prepared by Metro Leo Burnett and CUBA Studio. As pointed out by Director of TAVA, Uldis Vitolins, promotional films and video clips were regarded to be one of the most successful marketing tools world-wide, and it was very important to search for new ways of how to inform the potential tourists about Latvia. The campaign has been addressed to a really large target audience as CNN is one of the most widely known TV channels in Europe watched by many people. According to the agreement with the CNN, the promotional clip about Latvia will be broadcasted 57 times during the period from March 15 through April 11 on different days of week, from 15:00 – 19:45 hours Latvian time. State tourism Development Agency (14.03.2005) LETA (14.03.2005) (15.03.2005) Most successful Latvian export products listed during the "Made in Latvia" competition For the seventh year, the Latvian national bar code organisation, Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Trade "EAN Latvija" held a competition "Made in Latvia" to list the best Latvian export products – the Latvian retail products sold abroad most in 2004, increase the level of competitiveness of Latvian companies in this respect and popularise Latvian companies most successful in this area. The main objective of the competition was to facilitate the export of Latvian products, thus building a positive image of Latvia, both nationally and internationally. This year there were 63 companies with 219 products nominated as candidates to the title of the best exporter. The main assessment criteria of the applicants were the exported products volume in Ls. The applicants were divided in food and non-food product groups, small companies (staff number below 50) and large companies (staff number above 50). In the category of large companies the winners of both the "EAN Latvija" main prize and the title of the best export products were A/S GRINDEKS product "Mildronats" and A/S LAIMA biscuits "Selga". In the category of small companies the winners of both the main prize and the title of the best export products were A/S JAUNPILS PIENOTAVA product "Zelta siers" (Golden cheese) and SIA MEDITEKS surgical cotton wool "Zig-zag". EAN LATVIA (17.03.2005)
ITB is the largest international tourism fair, and this year there were 10,000 participants from more than 180 countries there. The main attention of the ITB fair is focused on tourism professionals and individuals who visit the fair to collect information so that to plan their potential trips. The fair also includes press conferences, as well as various presentations introducing the visitors of the fair to the services offered by the participating companies. During the ITB 2005 fair there was also a joint Baltic presentation held on March 11, in which Latvia was represented by the Director of the State Tourism Development Agency, Uldis Vitolins and Manager of the Baltic Information Bureau in Berlin, Anda Silde. At the time of the fair Latvia was represented by the Riga Tourism Coordination and Information Centre, Jurmala City Council, Latvia Tours, BTG, TAS, Via Riga, Radisson SAS Daugava, Baltic Beach Hotel, Jurmala SPA, Association of the Latvian Hotels and Restaurants and Kurzeme Tourism Association. During the fair the visitors of the Latvian stand were asked to complete a questionnaire so that to acquire information regarding the motivation, travelling habits and interests of German tourists. State tourism Development Agency (10.03.2005) Riga and Tartu sign declaration on cooperation On 14 March representatives of the Riga and Tartu city councils signed a declaration on cooperation. The declaration envisages both cities' cooperation in economy, trade, education, culture and tourism. The declaration's goal is to exchange experience and information in various fields between Riga and Tartu, prepare and successfully pursue cooperation projects, involve residents into the city administrations' work. Current Riga Mayor Gundars Bojars and Riga City Council's executive director Maris Tralmaks signed the declaration on behalf of Riga, and Tartu City Council chairman Aadu Must and chairwoman of Tartu board Laine Janes - on behalf of Tartu. LETA (14.03.2005)
Latvian Minister of Education and Science visits Israel
From 14 to 18 March 2005, the Latvian Minister of Education and Science, Ina Druviete, was on a visit to Israel, where she participated in the official opening of the new complex of buildings of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Museum and meeting Israeli officials. The Latvian delegation included the Latvian Ambassador to Israel, Karlis Eihenbaums. On 14 March, Ina Druviete had a meeting with representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports and discussed the prospects for developing bilateral cooperation between Latvia and Israel. Ms Druviete also met the Israeli Minister of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs, Nathan Sharansky, and the Head of the Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Commission of the Israeli Knesset, Colette Avital. On 15 March, the Minister visited the Jewish Language Training Centre Ezion, where Ms Druviete got acquainted with the language training process for the new immigrants. The Minister met with the Israeli Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, Limor Livnat, and addressed the lunch organised by her Jewish colleague. On 16 March, Ina Druviete participated in the opening ceremony of the new complex of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and delivered an address to the special session of Yad Vashem. In her speech, the Minister emphasized the importance of history teaching, especially about the Holocaust, thus safeguarding the world from experiencing a tragedy of this kind again. On the same day, 16 March, the Minister had a meeting with representatives of the Israeli non-governmental education and training organisation World ORT. The Minister was acquainted with the organisation's work in Israel and the world, and the possible involvement of World ORT in technological education projects in Latvia was discussed. On 17 March, Ms Druviete metwith representatives of the Association of Latvian and Estonian Jews in Israel. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (17.03.2005) Kalniete's book "Mit Ballschuhen im sibirischen Schnee" published in Germany A Munich publishing-house "Herbig" has published the book by one of the leaders of the Singing Revolution, ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs and Commissioner to the European Union, Sandra Kalniete, "With Dance Shoes in Siberian Snows" (Mit Ballschuhen im sibirischen Schnee ) translated in the German language. The presentation of the book was held on March 19 during the annual book fair in Leipzig. The book has been translated by Matthias Knoll. Kalniete is happy that the story about the destiny of the Latvian people reflecting the complexity of Latvia's history in the 20th century will now be available also to the German reader. The ex-Minister and Commissioner also points out that active public discussions related to the crimes and totalitarianism of the communism regime have now been started in the German press. Lately the history related discussions have become especially heated, which is due to the forthcoming 9th of May celebration event in Moscow. As noted by Kalniete, the attitude of the Europeans towards the history related to the crimes of communism is changing. Kalniete underlines it that since the expansion of the European Union the matters related to the factual history of the Eastern Europe and the crimes of communism have strengthened their position in terms of the focus of attention of the European discussions, yet there is still a lot to do so that to increase the awareness of what has really happened behind the iron curtain and overcome the "solidarity ignorance" that has been sheltering the issue for so many years. In 2003 a French publishing-house "Editions des Syrtes" published the French translation of the book by Kalniete "En Escarpins dans les neiges de Siberie". The book was released in more than ten thousand copies and rewarded the readers award of the "Elle" magazine. In the early May this year, the book will also be published in the Czech Republic and Italy, but in autumn it will be published in the Russian language by the publishing-house "Atena". Kalniete has also entered into agreements with the publishing-houses in the Netherlands and Sweden. LETA (14.03.2005)
From March 9 to 10, the Latvian Minister of Culture, Helena Demakova, was on a working visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, where she attended the 7th European Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy. The conference is organised by the European Council once in four years. This year the conference was held on March 10 – 11 in Kyiv. The conference focused on three subjects – freedom of information and speech at the time of a crisis, diversity of cultures and pluralism of media at the time of globalisation and human rights and new communications services in the information society. At the conclusion of the conference the European Ministers adopted a political declaration, resolution and a further action plan. For more detailed information about the 7th European Ministerial Conference on Mass Media Policy, please see the official web site of the conference's organiser Ministry of Culture (09.03.2005)
From March 15 to 18, Minister of Culture, Helena Demakova, was on a working visit to Austria where she met with an Austrian architect, the designer of the Liepaja Concert Hall project, Volker Giencke. On March 15, the Minister met with the representatives of the Austrian public, culture and diplomatic corps and the author of the Liepaja Concert Hall, Volker Giencke. The meeting was held at the embassy of the Republic of Latvia to Austria. On March 16, the Minister met with the Manager of the Contemporary Arts exhibition "Documenta 12", R. M.Burgel, to suggest learning more about the Latvian artists. On March 17, the Baltic's arts exhibition "Ars Baltica" that had been initiated by the Salzburg Professional Artists Association was opened in Salzburg. The Minister also gave interviews to the Austrian mass media -– Radio ORF (Oesterreich 1) and newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten. Ministry of Culture (15.03.2005) (17.03.2005)
Francophone days held in Latvia On March 14 – 24, the Francophone days in Latvia (Journees de la francophonie 2005 en Lettonie) are held in Riga and the four largest cities – Ventspils, Daugavpils, Liepaja and Jelgava. The event is dedicated to the International Francophone Day that has been initiated by the International Francophone Organisation and celebrated on March 20 annually throughout the world. Francophone is represented by 56 countries, which have formed five different organisations such as the World Francophone Organisation or the Francophone Inter-governmental Agency. As a result of the cooperation among the diplomatic representations of the francophone countries various culture events have been held reflecting the diversity of the culture of these countries and their belonging to the same language community. The Francophone week is the means through which the image of the French language can be enhanced in the eyes of those who are trying to express themselves in the area of education, art, science, economy and technologies, as well as in the various types of communication. The main objective of the events is to attract the attention of both the participants and public to the place of the French language in the world, the skills, modern nature and role of the language in terms of the enhancement of creativity and development of international relations. A full Francophone days agenda is available on the Home Page of the French Culture Centre on www.ccf.lv French Culture Centre in Riga (11.03.2005) LETA (11.03.2005)
Latvian embassy in Berlin presents a poetry book, "Riga udeni. Riga im Wasser" On 15 March 2005, the Latvian embassy in Berlin is presenting a poetry book, "Riga udeni. Riga im Wasser" (Riga in the water), published by Tapals. The book compiles Latvian poetry of different generations in Latvian and German, featuring classical authors such as Rainis, Aspazija, Fricis Barda, and well-known 20th century Latvian authors such as Olga Lisovska, Mara Zalite, Eva Martuza, Knuts Skujenieks, and Maris Melgalvis. The book's compiler is Gundega Zehauza, a Latvian living in Berlin. Attending the opening of the book are poet Mara Zalite and poetry translator Urzula Velica, a Latvia-born white German now living in Germany. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (15.03.2005)
Latvian writer Mara Zalite participates in a discussion within the project Kulturjahr der Zehn On 16 March 2005, a regular discussion in series Erlebt - erzählt. Zeitzeugen im Gespräch (Experienced - Told. Time Witnesses in a Discussion) is taking place in Potsdam as part of the cultural project of the EU new member states, Kulturjahr der Zehn (Cultural Year of the Ten). German listeners will have the opportunity to hear the life story of Latvian writer Mara Zalite. The discussion will also be broadcast on DeutschlandRadio. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (16.02.2005)
CALENDAR OF ARTS EVENTS
Information bulletin "Current Latvia" is a compilation of press releases and news reports drawn from the media and official sources. Not all of the views published reflect the official position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. |
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