Today, the Estonian head of state will be meeting with President Egils Levits, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš and Mayor of Riga Mārtiņš Staķis. On Wednesday he will be meeting with Speaker of the Saeima Edvards Smiltēns and giving a speech in Estonian before the Latvian parliament.
At the heart of these meetings will be closer neighbourly ties between Estonia and Latvia, in particular in the digital and defence fields, preparations for the NATO summit being held in Vilnius in July and continued support for Ukraine. In regard to regional infrastructure projects and connections, Prime Minister Karis will also be inspecting the underground gas reservoir in Inčukalns and the construction of the Riga terminal of Rail Baltic during his visit.
On Tuesday, President Karis will be opening a business seminar in Riga focussing on connections and creativity in entrepreneurship and presenting the Livonia Prize, which is traditionally awarded to one Estonian and one Latvian company that have contributed to the development of the economy and enterprise in their neighbouring country.
Thereafter the head of state will travel to Ādaži military base, where the operations of NATO’s Multinational Division North will be outlined to him and he will meet with Estonian soldiers serving there. In the afternoon he will be introduced to undergraduates studying Estonian at the Livonian Institute of the University of Latvia, investigating the operations of the Latvian sorting centre of the Estonian company Omniva and inspecting the construction of the new Estonian embassy in Riga.
During the trip, President Karis will join President Levits in laying wreaths at the base of the Freedom Monument in Riga, visiting the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia and meeting with members of the Fraternitas Lataviensis.
On the way back to Estonia, President Karis will be stopping at the Evangelical Lutheran church in Rubene and meeting with Mayor of Valmiera Jānis Baiks. The head of state will also be placing flowers at the memorial in Valmiera to Viljandi school boy Viktor Anderson, who was killed in the War of Independence, and visiting Vidzeme High School, the Valmieramuiža brewery and the Rūjiena ice cream factory.
President Karis’ wife Sirje Karis and President Levits’ wife Andra Levite will be visiting a centre which sources and prepares humanitarian aid for delivery to Ukraine, as well as the Riga TechGirls centre of technology studies and the SOS Children’s Village in Valmiera. Sirje Karis will also be a guest at the Estonian school in Riga.
This is the first state visit being undertaken by President Karis during his time in office. Accompanying him are Minister of the Climate and Environment Kristen Michal, Minister of Economic Affairs and Information Technology Tiit Riisalo, parliamentarians Henn Põlluaas and Peeter Tali, Commander of the Defence Forces Martin Herem and a delegation of Estonian entrepreneurs.
President Karis and Sirje Karis will return to Estonia on Wednesday evening.
