Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, is on an official visit to Ukraine. In Kiev, she met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, who thanked the Latvian Parliament for the active support for the Crimean Platform.
The Crimean Platform is an international initiative that will focus on the promotion of Crimean deoccupation. Speaker Mūrniece expressed the hope that the example of Latvia would be followed by parliaments of other European Union countries, and affirmed Latvia’s commitment to raising issues important to Ukraine at the international level. Mūrniece confirmed that Ukraine can rely on Latvia’s unwavering support for its sovereignty and territorial integrity. We will stand up for Ukraine’s integration into the European Union and NATO, emphasised the Speaker of the Saeima.
Likewise, Speaker Mūrniece underlined the importance of promoting everyday contacts between the people of both countries as well. Twin cities serve well for this purpose; for instance, Popasna and Bahmut in the Donetsk district have established contacts with Ogre and Saldus, respectively. People of the town of Ogre have hosted children whose families have suffered in warfare.
During a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the parties discussed current issues in cooperation between the two countries. Speaker Mūrniece pointed out that Ukraine is an important economic partner, and that the mutual trade turnover has increased despite the Covid‑19 pandemic. Both sides welcomed the relaunch of the office of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia in Ukraine, giving new impetus to co‑operation for entrepreneurs of both countries. Prime Minister Shmyhal also informed about progress in the reform process in the fields of justice, anti-corruption and education.
During the visit, Speaker Mūrniece is accompanied by Juris Rancāns, Chair of the Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee, and Ojārs Ēriks Kalniņš, Deputy Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima.
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Saeima Press Service