President Iohannis, Latvian ForMin Rinkevics discuss stepping up bilateral economic co-operation

President Klaus Iohannis welcomed visiting Latvia's Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace on Thursday, to discuss bilateral co-operation, European and security affairs.

According to a press statement released by the Presidential Administration, President Iohannis pointed out that the relations between Romania and Latvia are excellent, an opinion shared by the Latvian dignitary, with both of them pointing out the importance of intensifying bilateral economic co-operation.

Rinkevics highlighted the symbolism of his visit to Romania in the centennials celebrated by both countries, as well as preparations for Romania's takeover of the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2019.

He voiced Latvia's willingness to co-operate as closely with Romania during this period as possible, emphasising that the two countries have numerous shared positions on items of interest on the European agenda, including the future EU budget after 2020.

Also, the Latvian minister reiterated his country's support for Romania's candidacy at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

They also discussed security in the context of the forthcoming NATO Summit in Brussels on July 11 and 12, sharing common points of view of the two countries, especially on the eastern flank, whose consolidation must remain a priority with NATO. Against this background, it was reaffirmed that both countries achieved their objective of allocating 2 percent of their respective Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for defence spending.

"President Klaus Iohannis stressed the importance of securing cohesion and a united approach of the whole eastern flank, while also praising the European defence policy initiatives, in particular the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), a tool whose implementation should lead to a more efficient development of military capabilities and increased cohesion between the member states of the European Union, in full complementarity with NATO."

Iohannis also mentioned the importance of ensuring increased focus on cyber security, given the significant multiplication of hybrid threats, propaganda and misinformation.

At the same time, he mentioned the importance of the European digitisation efforts being continued, advocating for the consolidation of the digital single market as soon as possible.