Baltic States – CIS, EU – Baltic States, Integration, Latvia, Legislation

LETA was told at the Foreign Ministry that Kalnina-Lukasevica affirmed Latvia’s readiness to go ahead with its support for reforms in Georgia and continue development cooperation projects in the country. Georgia has achieved good progress in the harmonization of its national legislation in line with the European Union (EU) standards, the parliamentary secretary said. She stressed that it is vital to keep the reform process on track, especially in the areas of justice, the rule of law, good governance and economy.

Rakviashvili said that her country is undergoing an intensive process of reform. She also thanked Latvia for support offered for Georgia in its efforts to build stronger relations with the EU and NATO. Both officials commended the excellent cooperation and active dialogue between Latvia and Georgia. Georgia is also interested in working closely with Latvia in the field of strategic communications: in this context, the conversation highlighted the contribution by the Baltic Centre for Media Excellence to developing relevant expertise.

The meeting also addressed the state of affairs in the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where Russia continues pursuing its policy of gradual annexation. The parliamentary secretary emphasized that Latvia has always strongly supported Georgia's territorial integrity and considers that Russia's activities have a negative influence on the situation in those regions.

Referring to the EU-Georgia relationship, Kalnina-Lukasevica noted that it was essential to duly prepare for the Eastern Partnership Summit this coming November. In the context of the summit, we must work on practicable things and on initiatives that would yield tangible outputs, for instance, institution building, interconnections and projects in the energy sector, said Kalnina-Lukasevica.

Kalnina-Lukasevica and Rakviashvili agreed that ahead of the Eastern Partnership Summit, focus should be placed on designing and implementing concrete initiatives.

Mariam Rakviashvili is visiting Latvia to take part in the Riga StratCom Dialogue 2017 high-level conference organized by the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence.