Latvia and Switzerland have traditionally had good relations, and on Monday during a meeting with Ignacio Kassis, Vice-President of the Federal Council of the Swiss Confederation and Head of the Federal Foreign Department, President Egils Levits said.
The President’s Chancellery was informed that during the meeting, both sides emphasized the centenary of de jure relations between Latvia and Switzerland and 30 years since the resumption of diplomatic relations.
The President noted that the two countries traditionally have good political and economic relations; Switzerland, both historically and today, has its own Latvian community, which helps to establish co-operation.
Levits emphasized that at one time, after the establishment of independence, Latvia was inspired by the Swiss Constitution of 1848 and the Weimar Constitution when drafting the Satversme. The two sides discussed the functioning of the Swiss democratic system and the involvement of the people in the country’s political life.
Kassis invited Levita to pay an official visit to Switzerland next year, including his hometown and a place so important to Latvian culture – Lugano, where the poets Rainis and Aspazija once lived in exile.
Levits and Kassis discussed relations between the European Union (EU) and Switzerland. The President emphasized that Latvia, as an EU member state, supports the establishment of good neighborly relations and active political and economic co-operation.
–
