Parliament friendship groups of Latvia, Estonia to meet in Valga

TALLINN - The Latvia-Estonia and Estonia-Latvia friendship groups of the parliaments of the two countries will meet in the border town Valga to discuss the promotion of transport connections between the two countries and the teaching of Estonian and Latvian languages in schools close to the border.

Peeter Tali, chairman of the Riigikogu's Estonia-Latvia parliamentary friendship group, said that the cooperation between Estonia and Latvia on the big international arena is better than ever before.

"It is all the more gratifying that we have a great interest in using our solidarity also at the local level as much as possible. To this end, we will discuss with our colleagues how to expand and extend the cultural bridge and how to speed up the development of strategic north-south connections and smoothly organize cross-border local transport," he added.

Tali said that, in addition to Rail Baltic, the Tartu-Riga train connection, the new Salacgriva bridge and cross-border bus routes will also be discussed.

The visit, which will begin at 11 a.m., will also include visits to the Valga city government and the Valga County Vocational Training Center.

The Latvian delegation will include Janis Vucans, chairman of the Estonia-Latvia parliamentary friendship group, and group members Skaidrite Abrama, Irma Kalnina, Ervins Labanovskis and Harijs Rokpelnis. Also taking part in the meeting are Kristine Naseniece, the ambassador of Latvia to Estonia, and representatives of the Latvian Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Education and Science.

The Estonian delegation will include Peeter Tali, chairman of the Latvia-Estonia parliamentary friendship group, and group members Ester Karuse, Anti Poolamets and Irja Lutsar. Also taking part in the meeting are Eerik Marmei, the ambassador of Estonia to Latvia, and Pille Poiklik, chief expert of the language policy department of the Ministry of Education and Research.