During the visit, Siliņa met with Estonian Prime Minister Kai Kallas and Speaker of the Parliament Lauri Husar.
Silina was also scheduled to meet with Estonian President Alar Karis, but it had to be canceled because Karis informed that he had fallen ill.
The officials discussed cooperation in such areas as economy, security and defense, energy, traffic and transport, as well as education and culture.
At a joint press conference of the heads of government of the two countries, Siliņa emphasized: “Latvia and Estonia have excellent cooperation and excellent neighborly relations.
I can confirm that together with the Prime Minister of Estonia, we also create a loud voice in the European Union, standing up for both our own security and the security of Ukraine.”
In the fields of security and defense, the countries have the closest cooperation, for example, by purchasing joint air defense systems from Germany. There is also active cooperation in developing joint transport connections, especially “Rail Baltica”.
In the field of energy, the head of the Latvian government highlighted the agreement of the Baltic states on the desynchronization of electricity networks. Also discussed was the topic of damage to gas and communication connections in the Baltic Sea, as well as cooperation in the use of the Paldiski liquefied gas terminal in a potential crisis situation.
Siliņa also emphasized that the Inčukalna gas storage is almost full and can provide supplies to the region, including Estonia.
Kaja Kallas and Evika Silina
Photo: Gatis Rozenfelds, State Chancellery
In connection with regional security and NATO, Silina emphasized the consensus of both countries that Russia and its invasion of Ukraine threaten the security of Europe and the world. Therefore, it is important to continue the support of the European Union, NATO and partner countries to Ukraine in order to achieve the restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders.
The heads of government agreed on the need to strengthen sanctions against Russia and the fight against sanctions evasion.
Likewise, work must continue to ensure that Russia bears full responsibility for the crimes of its aggression in Ukraine.
The Prime Minister emphasized that, in preparation for the NATO summit in 2024 in Washington, USA, it is important to actively work on the implementation of regional defense plans, including strengthening NATO’s air defense. It is also important that Sweden joins NATO as soon as possible.
Silina also positively assessed the recommendation of the European Commission to start the negotiation procedure on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the European Union. The officials agreed that in December, the European Council should adopt a decision on the start of negotiations in accordance with this recommendation.
Typo?
Highlight the text and press Ctrl+Enter to send the corrected text fragment to the editor!
Highlight the text and press the Report an error button to send the corrected text fragment to the editor!
Report a bug
2023-11-08 17:22:54
#visit #Tallinn #Siliņa #emphasizes #excellent #cooperation #Latvia #Estonia
