Bilateral consultations held between Latvia and Lithuania [29 Jul 2009]

On 29 July, bilateral consultations between Latvia and Lithuania were held in Riga. On the Lithuanian side, the event was attended by the Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Asta Skaisgiryte-Liauskiene. On the Latvian side the discussion partners were the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andris Teikmanis, the Head of the EU Directorate, Ilze Juhansone and the Head of the Directorate of Economic Policy and Co-operation, Maija Manika.

Those present emphasised successful co-operation between both countries, the proof to which a considerable number of bilateral meetings at different levels, and accentuated their mutual interest to expand co-operation both on a bilateral basis and at the regional and EU level. The 20^th Anniversary of the Baltic Way was noted as the closest significant occasion, when the commemoration events will be organized by Lithuania as the country holding the Baltic Council of Ministers chairmanship for 2009.

While talking about the current developments in the field of economy, attention was devoted to the progress of the implementation of the Baltic energy market interconnection plan.

In a discussion with Ilze Juhansone, Head of the EU Directorate, topical issues of bilateral co-operation as well as a number of EU-related questions were reviewed, focusing on managing the priorities of the upcoming EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and its Action Plan.

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