Riga set to host NATO Parliamentary Assembly

RIGA - Delegates from throughout Europe and North America have begun pouring into Riga, Latvia, ahead of the Parliamentary Assembly (PA) that will get underway on Friday.

The main goal of the PA will be to draft a new strategic concept for the military alliance.

A NATO press release said that the event will be attended by approximately 700 participants – parliamentarians from the NATO PA member states and associate member states, their accompanying persons, observers, experts and journalists.

Riga Session will be attended by parliamentarians from 28 NATO member states and from 13 associate member states of the NATO PA. Representatives from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Assembly of WEU (the European Security and Defence Assembly) and the European Parliament will also participate in this Session as will representatives from the Afghan parliament.

In addition to developing a new strategic concept, participants of the Session will also focus on risks related to military, economic and energy security that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is bound to face in the future. In the panel discussions, participants of the Session will discuss the influence of long-term economic changes on the global balance of power, NATO-Russia relations, the strengthening of cooperation between NATO and the European Union, the security situation in Afghanistan and other issues.

Hosts Latvia will be represented by Ms. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, former President of Latvia; Mr. Imants Lieģis, Minister of Defence; Mr. Juris Maklakovs, Commander of National Armed Forces; Mr. Aivis Ronis, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has participated in drafting the NATO’s New Strategic Concept; Mr. Ilmārs Rimšēvičs, Governor of the Bank of Latvia; and Ms. Žaneta Ozoliņa, Professor at the University of Latvia.