The Latvian Head of State tested positive for COVID-19 this morning. Both the Latvian and Finnish presidents participated in a high-level forum in Malmö yesterday. Consequently, the President of Finland also decided to postpone the meeting with his Estonian colleague.
This morning, President Karis had a phone call with President of Latvia Egils Levits. The Estonian Head of State wished President Levits good health and a speedy recovery. President Karis expressed hope to meet his Latvian colleague soon. “It is unfortunate that we are currently living in a time where our life is governed by the coronavirus rather than ourselves. The only advice I can currently give as a person with scientific background is to vaccinate yourself if you do not want life to stop and face restrictions forced upon society by those who refuse to do so,” said President Karis.
This morning President Karis met with Speaker of the Latvian parliament Ināra Mūrniece in Riga in order to discuss the deepening of relations between Estonia and Latvia and cooperation on the regional level as well as in the European Union and international organisations in general. “Latvia is our very good and important partner, with whom we have a long and close cooperation,” said President Karis.
Talks of the bilateral cooperation between Estonia and Latvia included a discussion of the second future cooperation report. President Karis expressed hope that it will give further impetus to the relationship.
Discussions of regional security touched upon the hybrid crisis created by Belarus on the external border of the European Union. “Using migrants for political leverage is unacceptable. The European Union must respond appropriately,” President Karis stressed.
Additionally, the conversation touched upon cooperation in international organisations, including the UN, and Latvia’s candidacy for a seat on the UN Security Council. “Estonia is glad that Latvia has decided to organise the next meeting of the Three Seas Initiative. The topics of cross-border data exchange and regional infrastructure projects were also approached and it was agreed that their implementation is a priority for both sides and the construction of Rail Baltica must proceed as quickly as possible.
In addition to meeting the speaker, President Karis visited the Kristjan Jaak Peterson memorial and the site of the future Estonian Embassy building.
