Latvia and Lithuania must cooperate to renew rail traffic

RIGA - Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics met with visiting Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis, LETA was informed by the Foreign Ministry.

During the meeting, Rinkevics said that he highly valued bilateral relations between Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the close economic cooperation and in the development of energy and transport projects.

In a discussion on economic cooperation, Rinkevics accentuated the importance of resuming rail traffic from Mazeikiai in Lithuania to Liepaja in Latvia. He also welcomed the proposal by the Lithuanian foreign minister to establish a joint working group in transport matters and emphasized that the competent ministries should cooperate on this matter as efficiently as possible.

Both ministers shared the awareness on the need to coordinate and jointly protect national interests in important matters on the European Union level, notably in regard to the EU's multi-annual financial framework for the next period. The parties discussed the experience of Lithuania and Latvia while preparing for their first presidencies of the Council of the European Union. Rinkevics said that Latvia is interested in appointing a diplomat at the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry during the second part of 2013, when Lithuania will take the EU presidency.