EU – Baltic States, Forum, Latvia, Legislation, Technology

In her remarks, Zanda Kalnina-Lukasevica pointed out that the advancement of information and communication technologies can render the efforts of countries easier and more effective as they work towards the goals of the UN’s new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development thereby promoting democratic values and long-term stability in the world. The Parliamentary State Secretary said that “the OGP has common standards and a vision for bringing the international community to the Sustainable Development Goals on schedule”.

Zanda Kalnina-Lukasevica also emphasised that technologies must be used to better involve civil society in political processes since connectedness with people increases government credibility. Latvia is actively using its expertise in information and communication technologies to achieve this result. “The smaller the gap between people and government, the stronger the democracy,” she pointed out.

The Parliamentary State Secretary put the spotlight on the efforts and achievements of Latvia in taking forward the Digital Agenda for Europe, which involves digital democracy and development of digital economies. Concrete projects have been carried out in Latvia to promote public participation and government transparency, for instance, the Mana balss (My Voice) online petition platform and the www.latvija.lv e-services portal.

During the Summit, on 27 October, Zanda Kalnina-Lukasevica also met with Senator Roberto Gil Zuarth, the President of the Senate of the Mexican Congress, and exchanged views on the access of digital technologies and their use in legislative and executive activities. The Senator was quite interested in Latvia’s experience since this field is less developed in Mexico.

Zanda Kalnina-Lukasevica, the Latvian Foreign Ministry’s Parliamentary State Secretary for EU Affairs, is on a working visit to Mexico City on 27-30 October to participate in the Open Government Partnership’s Global Summit and discuss the relations and prospects for cooperation between Latvia and Mexico in meetings with Mexican officials.

The Open Government Partnership was launched in 2011 on the initiative of the United States and Brazil. The OGP brings together 66 countries which draw up national open government action plans and undertake specific commitments to improve the functioning of their public institutions, thereby facilitating governance that is more effective and more open and civic society that is more involved in political processes and has greater trust in government institutions.