Lithuanian, Latvian brotherhood more important today than ever – Lithuanian parliament speaker

VILNIUS - The Lithuanian-Latvian brotherhood and cooperation are more important today than ever before, Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen said during a commemoration of the Baltic Unity Day in Latvia on Saturday.

"Russia's war against Ukraine reminds us that freedom, democracy and our place in Europe are not self-evident values. It would be naive to think that we can feel safe while Ukraine suffers. The strategic goal is to secure Ukraine's victory, or face serious geopolitical consequences", Cmilyte-Nielsen said in her speech.

In her words, the Baltic parliaments have often been at the forefront of important European decisions over the past few years, adding that the Lithuanian and Latvian agendas go far beyond their territories.

"We need to improve infrastructure links, in particular through the Rail Baltica project and the synchronization of our electricity grids with continental Europe, to strengthen the single market and economic integration. The war against Ukraine and the need to strengthen NATO's eastern flank open up new prospects for cooperation in the defense industry. We see many opportunities to boost inbound tourism and to present Lithuania and Latvia as a single market for foreign tourists," the Lithuanian parliament speaker pointed out.