Today, a meeting of the Permanent Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly will take place in the Saeima building, the Saeima's press service informed the LETA agency.
It will bring together leaders from more than 30 delegations of national parliaments of NATO member countries. The Chair of the Saeima, Daiga Mierina, will address the parliamentarians. She will also meet with the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Marcos Perestrello.
A number of important security issues are planned to be discussed in Riga, including the impact of Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine on Euro-Atlantic security, as well as the significance of the Arctic region. The agenda also includes an exchange of views with Foreign Minister Baiba Braže and a conversation with the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Yegor Chernev.
Parliamentarians are also scheduled to visit a military base in Adazi.
The head of the Latvian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Raimonds Bergmanis, emphasized that the agenda of the meeting clearly reflects the priorities regarding current security challenges in the world.
As noted in the Saeima, the Permanent Committee performs a wide range of both political and administrative tasks and coordinates the overall work of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Committee meetings usually take place on a rotational basis in one of the member countries of the assembly and are closed to the public.
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly, established in 1955, is a consultative inter-parliamentary organization that brings together parliamentarians from countries of the North Atlantic Alliance. It serves as a link between NATO and the parliaments of member states, as well as strengthening political dialogue. The Latvian delegation to the assembly consists of six members of the Saeima.
Parliamentarians from Central and Eastern European countries and other states interested in closer cooperation with the alliance also participate in the assembly. This includes about 80 delegates from 11 associated countries, the European Parliament, four partner countries from the Mediterranean region, as well as seven delegations of parliamentary observers.
During the sessions, parliamentarians develop and adopt resolutions on current issues of transatlantic security, innovations, existing and new strategies. Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, particular attention has been paid to issues of intelligence, military, civilian, and other assistance to Ukraine.
