Latvia backs Ukraine-EU agreement plan

Latvia has backed Ukraine’s efforts to sign a major agreement next month bringing them closer to the European Union. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Leonid Kozhara on Oct. 2  in Riga. The ministers discussed Ukraine’s efforts to sign an association agreement with the EU at the Eastern Partnership summit on Nov. 28-29 in Vilnius. The move will create stronger trade ties with the EU states.

“Latvia strongly supports the signing of the European Union (EU) and Ukraine Association Agreement at the Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit to be held on November 28-29 in Vilnius,” said Rinkevics.

Issues discussed also included Latvian-Ukrainian economic relations, pointing to the need to increase cooperation in the fields of engineering, pharmaceutics, trade in food products, IT and tourism.

Rinkevics said: “It is to be regarded as positive that a large number of students from Ukraine are studying at Latvian higher education institutions, and the two countries have the potential to develop cooperation in this field.”

Kozhara later visited the Riga Ukrainian Secondary School and laid flowers at the Freedom Monument in Riga.

The Latvian foreign minister also emphasized the need to find a solution to the former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s case. The former prime minister was sentenced to a seven year sentence for embezzlement and fraud. The controversial ruling has drawn much criticism from EU leaders.