Minister of State Werner Hoyer will be in Riga on 15 and 16 July, where he will have talks with Foreign Minister Aivis Ronis, Defence Minister Imants Liegis and former Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis, who is now a Member of the European Parliament.

The main theme of his trip will be security and European policy issues. His security policy agenda will include notably NATO’s New Strategic Concept, nuclear and conventional disarmament, Afghanistan and relations with Russia. Minister Hoyer’s discussions on European matters will cover the economic and financial crisis, energy, the EU’s Eastern Partnership and the European External Action Service.

Before leaving for Riga, Minister of State Hoyer issued the following statement:

”Bilateral relations between Germany and Latvia are close and based on mutual trust. But we also see Latvia as an important partner in the area of security and European policy This is reflected in the regular consultations we hold in this connection. We are grateful for Latvia’s engagement in Afghanistan, to which the Latvian Government remains committed even as it introduces an extensive consolidation and reform package. These exemplary efforts testify to a sound and sustainable fiscal policy.“

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