Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins and Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs discuss Latvia's closer involvement in development co-operation

On 15 February, Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins met with the new EU Commissioner for Development Co-operation, Andris Piebalgs, to discuss the action programme of the new European Commission and the current institutional issues of the European Union, including the prospects for co-operation between the European External Action Service and the European Commission in the field of development co-operation.  

"According to its budgetary possibilities, Latvia should make effort in the nearest future to assign adequate funding to development co-operation projects, thus, in association with the international community, implementing the goals in the field of development co-operation," Minister Riekstins pointed out.

Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, for his part, made note of the Latvian entrepreneurs' interest to engage in development co-operation projects and indicated that non-governmental organisations and local authorities also have possibilities for participating in measures of this type.

In the European Commission for 2010-2014, Mr Piebalgs will be in charge of development policy issues. The European Commission approved the composition of the new European Commission on 9 February, and Andris Piebalgs has been allocated the portfolio of Commissioner for Development Co-operation.

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