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At the conclusion of his working visit to the United States, Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins met with the President of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Craig Kennedy, with the aim of discussing the successful long-term co-operation between Latvia and the fund, manifested by Latvia's support to the annual Brussels Forum and by the involvement of the fund in the organisation of the Riga Conference.
The Foreign Minister expressed his satisfaction that as early as 31 October and 1 November, foreign policy and security policy experts from non-governmental organisations and academic circles will gather in Riga to participate, together with a number of heads of state and public officials, in the Riga Conference. Minister Riekstins also noted that this year's Riga Conference will be a significant discussion forum on the issues regarding the future of the EU and NATO, and also on the relations between the Russian Federation and the transatlantic community, particularly within the context of current foreign policy developments.
The tradition of the Riga Conference as a high level discussion forum was initiated in 2006, when under the auspices of the NATO Summit in Riga a meeting of leading international policy experts took place with the aim of debating the significant challenges facing NATO countries and European Union member states. In 2007, the conference was directed to topics related to Europe at the Crossroads: from Riga to Bucharest, thus taking forward the discussion initiated during the NATO Summit. This year, the Riga Conference will take place from 31 October to 1 November in the Melngalvju Nams, and to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Latvia, the theme of the conference is Europe Whole and Free: 90 years in the making.
Today concludes the working visit to the United States by Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins. The visit from 8-11 October included the Minister's meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and with the foreign policy advisors to the U.S. presidential candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties. Minister Riekstins participated in a round table discussion for an assessment of the relations between Russia and Western countries, organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and also met with representatives from a number of non-governmental and academic organizations.
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