Foreign Ministry State Secretary Andris Teikmanis in Sweden [19 Mar 2009]

On 19 March, Foreign Ministry State Secretary Andris Teikmanis is in Stockholm to participate in a meeting hosted by the Swedish Prime Minister's Office on the emerging EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. By June of this year, the European Commission must present proposals for the strategy which, it is anticipated, will be adopted during the Swedish presidency of the EU during the second half of 2009.

The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region is the first EU strategy for any of Europe's macro-regions. Its purpose will be to promote the realisation of EU policy in the region, and to make effective use of the co-operation possibilities between organisations of the region, as well as the available funding. Latvia's priorities in the strategy mostly coincide with those of its neighbouring countries: energy, competitiveness, education and science, the environment, as well as social welfare and security.

At the Embassy of Latvia in Stockholm, Mr Teikmanis will be meeting with 25 foreign ambassadors, all of whom are accredited to Latvia but who reside in Stockholm, in order to inform them about current issues in Latvia, as well as to address topics of interest to Latvia in co-operation with these states.

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