Baltic States – CIS, Belarus, Latvia

Both Pildegovics and Belarus Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Kravchenko welcomed the upward trend in the field of investments and confirmed their interest in expanding cooperation in transport and transit, also in the Latvia-Belarus-China trilateral format, the Latvian Foreign Ministry said.

Pildegovics stressed that the state of affairs in democracy and human rights remain crucial when building the EU-Belarus relations. He called for the further strengthening of standards in democracy and human rights, including respect for the freedom of assembly and expression, a moratorium on the death penalty, and an electoral reform.

The representative of the Latvian Foreign Ministry commended the dialogue launched on security policy and confirmed that Latvia was prepared to take it forward. The Latvian and Belarus diplomats welcomed the close and collegial cooperation in the matters of border control and management, which is of key importance for neighboring countries to address the present-day migration related challenges.

Pildegovics also invited Belarus to intensify cooperation in environmental protection, including continued negotiations on a Latvia-Belarus agreement in the field of nuclear security and launching talks on a bilateral agreement for the protection of the Daugava River Basin.

He confirmed that Latvia was interested in further cooperation under the European Neighborhood Instrument's Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus Cross-border Cooperation Program, thereby strengthening people-to-people contacts and promoting socio-economic development in border regions.

At the meeting, the parties confirmed that cooperation in the Eastern Partnership format should continue, this being an instrument for security, resilience and modernization in the partner countries.

The protocol on setting up diplomatic relations between the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Belarus was signed on April 7, 1992, therefore the political consultations today also marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.