On 25 August, Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins met the Foreign Minister of Austria, Dr Michael Spindelegger, who was on an official visit in Latvia. During their meeting, the ministers reviewed the bilateral relations between Latvia and Austria, as well as the issues on the European Union (EU) agenda.

Ministers Riekstins and Spindelegger expressed satisfaction regarding the development of the relations between both countries. The ministers shared the opinion that co-operation should be continued under the current economic situation and noted consular co-operation as one of the areas. The Foreign Minister of Latvia, Maris Riekstins accentuated that since the restoration of independence, an exchange of high level visits had taken place at the political level. The Foreign Minister of Austria, Michael Spindelegger, in his turn, highlighted the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Baltic Way and noted that this peaceful demonstration in 1989 was a unique historic event.

During the discussion, Minister Spindelegger brought attention to the process of preparing the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. This is the first EU internal long-term strategy for a macroregion that is based on an integrated approach to the implementation of the EU policies in the region. Minister Riekstins informed his ministerial counterpart about the drafting process but the Austrian Foreign Minister, in his turn, indicated that the Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region is like a pilot project for other European macroregions and empasised the possibility for an experience transfer when developing a Strategy for the Danube Region. "I commend Austria's interest in taking over in other regions of Europe the experience with the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region," Mr Riekstins noted.

With regard to the European Union agenda, the ministers exchanged opinions on the EU enlargement. Ministers Riekstins and Spindelegger were positive about Iceland's membership application and noted Croatia's eurointegration following a successful conclusion of accession negotiations.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Dr Spindelegger invited Minister Riekstins to come on a visit to Austria.

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