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Thursday, 28.03.2024, 10:07
Latvian, Belarussian MPs agree to step up cooperation to strengthen border control
Photo: saeima.lv |
Valery Gaidukevich, chairman of Belarus’ parliament national security committee, and his deputy Viktor Rusak, are visiting Latvia this week.
“Cooperation in border control is extremely important to Latvia as Belarus’ neighbor country. This cooperation is especially significant in the present situation where the risks of cigarette contraband and illegal immigration has rapidly increased on the border with Belarus,” Ainars Latkovskis (Unity), chairman of the Saeima defense, interior and corruption prevention committee, said after the meeting with the Belarussian lawmakers.
Last year, the Latvian law enforcement officers seized 163.6 million illegal cigarettes, of which 105.6 million were of Belarussian origin, according to the Finance Ministry’s data. Also, 176 persons were detained for trespassing the “green” border.
During today’s meeting, Latkovskis and other Latvian MPs invited their Belarussian colleagues to meet at the Latvia-Belarus border next year to get first-hand information about the work of the two countries’ border guard services and seek possibilities for closer cooperation.
The Belarussian parliamentarians had been invited to the meeting in Saeima by the defense, interior and corruption prevention committee.
On Wednesday, Gaidukevich and Rusak will meet with Latvian Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (Unity) and State Border Guard chief Normunds Garbars, as well as Latvian defense officials.