Foreign Minister and Heads of EU representations discuss current foreign policy issues

On 16 July, Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins participated in the working lunch hosted by the Ambassador of France in Latvia, Pascal Fieschi, for the heads of missions of the European Union member states. During the working lunch, current issues on the agenda of the European Union and the key recent Latvian foreign policy events were discussed.

The attention largely focused on the French Presidency of the European Union, its declared priorities and scheduled events, including the Union for the Mediterranean initiative which was officially launched on 13 July in Paris.

Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins congratulated the efforts of France directed towards the promotion of stability in the Mediterranean region, indicating that Latvia, at the same time, would emphasize the need to strengthen the partnership with the neighbouring countries to the east of the European Union. Minister Riekstins gave a brief review of the official visit to Latvia by the Foreign Minister of Georgia, Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili, on 12 July, and urged the European Union member states to voice  firm and united support to Georgia and to follow the further development of the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

The discussions also touched upon the Latvian Foreign Minister's recent visit to Kosovo, especially in view of it being one of the first visits to Kosovo by a high-level EU representative after its constitution came into force on 15 June. Minister Riekstins informed the EU ambassadors on the assistance that Latvia has offered Kosovo to help establish state institutions, in particular the Foreign Ministry, and on the planned exchange of experience on practical issues such as the protocol and training programmes for diplomats. The Minister also emphasized the need to facilitate the further advancement of the process of independence recognition for Kosovo.

Among the issues covered in the discussions with the EU ambassadors were the EU - Russia dialogue, Latvia's bilateral relations with the Russian Federation, the pending agreements and the work of the Intergovernmental Commission. The Foreign Minister also drew the ambassadors' attention to co-operation issues between the EU and Central Asia, and mentioned the prospective visit to the Central Asian region by the President of Latvia Valdis Zatlers scheduled for autumn of this year.

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