Estonian-Latvian Intergovernmental Commission agrees on continued cooperation in healthcare and transport

  • 2019-11-07
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - The Estonian-Latvian Intergovernmental Commission on Wednesday agreed to continue cooperation in providing healthcare services in border regions and improving transport connections, LETA was told at the Latvian Environmental Protection and Regional Development Ministry.

The intergovernmental panel also agreed on the necessity to continue work to develop the Riga-Tartu cross-border railway link, coordinate procedures and plans for joint cross-border rescue operations, explore possibilities to develop a common packaging deposit system, provide ferry traffic between the Estonian island of Saaremaa and the western Latvian province of Kurzeme, as well ensure road repairs in border areas. 

Latvian  Environmental Protection and Regional Development Minister Juris Puce (For Development/For) indicated that cooperation between Latvia and Estonia has been historically very active on various levels and in various formats and that it still remains extremely important. 

The agreements reached during the commission's meeting include effective solutions for dealing with legal and administrative issues in Latvian-Estonian border regions. 

Puce noted that the jointly developed solutions "are already working for the benefit of both countries' residents" and that new initiatives are proposed each year that could improve the accessibility of services and ensure better life conditions in the border regions. 

The meeting of the  Environmental Protection and Regional Development was chaired by Puce and Estonian Minister of Public Administration Jaak Aab. Participating in the meeting were Latvian Ambassador to Estonia Raimonds Jansons, Estonian Ambassador to Latvia Arti Hilpus, as well as representatives of Latvian and Estonian ministries and municipalities.