On May 26-27, 2010 the Speakers of the Nordic and the Baltic Parliaments visited Washington, where they met with Ms Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. For more than a decade, the Parliaments of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden (NB8) have been developing ties at Speaker and Committee level. In 2004, the first joint NB8 Speakers visit to Washington DC was organized, to be followed by joint visits to Ukraine in 2005 and Georgia in 2007.
During the visit, the Speakers drew attention to the continuously increasing level of political cooperation and economic integration between the five Nordic and three Baltic countries, which make this region unique. For the NB8 countries, transatlantic ties and cooperation are a long-standing priority. Therefore the Speakers underlined the need to re-examine the possibility of enhancing and developing Nordic-Baltic-US cooperation. The Speakers expressed their wish to intensify cooperation between the legislative bodies of the US and NB8, and explore the possibility of, for example, regular meetings between the Chairs of Foreign Affairs Committees.
The NB8 countries take full account of the global security situation and agenda, and recognize that NATO is a central actor for European security and an important forum for transatlantic dialogue and cooperation. New security challenges were discussed.
All Nordic and Baltic countries are actively engaged in Afghanistan, including contributing within the framework of ISAF. The engagement builds on common values such as promoting democracy, human rights, gender equality and rule of law. The involvement of NATO in Afghanistan, under UN mandate, has highlighted the importance of a comprehensive approach to security. Parliamentarians play a crucial role in securing public support for our common values and missions in such work.
Relations with Russia were high on the agenda, emphasizing that these should be further developed by seeking cooperation and common opportunities, while simultaneously adhering to our principles and democratic values.
The Speakers support the EU Eastern Partnership. They see the need for reinforced attention to this region and increased political dialogue, together with increased financial and technical assistance aimed at fostering political, economic and social reforms.
The Speakers welcome the growing recognition of the geopolitical and strategic importance of the Arctic region, its significance for the global climate and environment, and support further cooperation between states.
