08 February 2008
Speaker of the Seimas Viktoras Muntianas met with the delegation headed by Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia Ivars Godmanis.
During the meeting, Speaker of the Seimas Mr. Muntianas and Latvian Prime Minister Mr. Godmanis rejoiced at perfect results of bilateral cooperation, in particular in the sphere of economy. The Head of the Lithuanian Parliament expressed a hope that cooperation would become more intensive in other spheres as well.
Mr. Muntianas stressed that after enlargement of the Schengen Area, cooperation at the municipal level should be improved and development of the necessary infrastructure at the Lithuanian-Latvian border ensured. The ideas about the opportunities of information dissemination between the states were also exchanged at the meeting. “We hear more about Spain than about each other,” agreed Mr. Godmanis.
The Speaker of the Seimas also drew Prime Minister’s attention to the fact that the sea border agreement signed by Lithuania and Latvia in 1999 and ratified by the Lithuanian Seimas had not yet been ratified by the Latvian Saeima. The Prime Minister informed that the text of the agreement was returned to the Latvian Government and would be deliberated shortly.
The issues of the decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, prospects of the nuclear energy sector and the project of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea were also discussed at the meeting. The Prime Minister emphasised that the Latvian Government supported the project of construction of the new nuclear power plant in Lithuania and admitted the importance of the role of the Lithuanian Parliament in passing decisions pertaining to the nuclear power plant. “The role of the Parliament should be increased not only in legislation, but also in decision-making related to the country’s economy,” said Mr. Godmanis.
The meeting also laid emphasis on the necessity of interparliamentary cooperation and the role of the Baltic Assembly in solving common relevant problems arising for the Baltic States during the globalisation processes.
Pubic Relations Unit
