“Back then, it seemed as though the entire Latvia were barricading. Physically here in Riga, across Latvia, and figuratively—in people’s hearts. A united, unbreakable wall of courage and determination. People came from all regions and cities to defend their freedom, not because it was officially organised by the authorities, but upon invitation of the Popular Front. Without hesitation or second thoughts,” said Edvards Smiltēns, Speaker of the Saeima, on Friday, 20th January, lighting the commemorative bonfire on the Commemoration Day of Participants of the 1991 Barricades.

Continuing their visit to Ukraine, the delegation led by the Speaker of the Saeima, Edvards Smiltēns, met with the highest Ukrainian officials — President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

“With your heroism, you have achieved the impossible — a real awakening! Both on the battlefields and by transmitting such a powerful push of courage and determination that it has reached every corner of the free world, touching the hearts of billions of people. It has cleared the mist of illusions and created an unprecedented rise of solidarity and cooperation, and urged our nations to remember and appreciate what matters most — our freedom, independence, and democracy," said Speaker of the Saeima, Edvards Smiltēns, on Thursday, 12 January, addressing Ukrainian parliamentarians of the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv.

From today’s point of view, the railroad project Rail Baltica is no longer just a convenient passenger link with Western Europe. Its strategic importance is increasing from a security perspective, as an artery for transporting military cargo in case of need, noted Edvards Smiltēns, Speaker of the Saeima, during his visit to Warsaw, capital of Poland, where he underlined the need for the Baltic states and Poland to develop joint infrastructure projects of strategic importance.

One hundred years ago, Polish and Latvian soldiers fought the Red Army side by side to free the Latgale region and defend the newly established Latvian state. Today we are close allies and strategic partners, standing guard over the values that laid the foundation of our countries, noted Edvards Smiltēns, Speaker of the Saeima, in Warsaw, during a meeting with Elżbieta Witek, Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland. A delegation led by the Speaker of the Saeima is currently on an official visit to Poland.

On Friday, 2 December, Edvards Smiltēns, Speaker of the Saeima, met with Elnur Sultanov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Republic of Latvia, and suggested seeking new opportunities for cooperation and expanding dialogue in areas of high added value.

“This is a difficult time, but it is also a time of opportunity. Latvia and Lithuania must find new avenues for cooperation and speed up ongoing projects of strategic importance,” highlighted Speaker Smiltēns during his meeting with Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Speaker of the Parliament of Lithuania, in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, on Tuesday, 29 November.

Our common goal is furthering regional integration. In other words, we must work to achieve increasingly seamless borders between the Baltic States, so that the people living, working, or relaxing in a neighbouring country on a daily basis would encounter increasingly less inconvenience and bureaucratic obstacles. This was highlighted by Edvards Smiltēns, Speaker of the Saeima, during a meeting with Jüri Ratas, Speaker of the Estonian Parliament, in Vilnius, capital of Estonia, on Tuesday, 22 November.

We can learn from the predecessors of our Parliament the importance of not losing clarity about the greater goal to be achieved—and not getting lost in the trifling matters of everyday life. One hundred years ago, in this building, our predecessors set themselves the goal of building a free and democratic Latvia, and they chose the path of parliamentarism. A difficult, complex, winding, and steep path, but ultimately the only right path. A path that has largely determined who we are, what our country is now and what it will be like a hundred years from now, said Edvards Smiltēns, Speaker of the Saeima, on Monday, 7 November, at the ceremonial sitting of the Saeima dedicated to the centenary of the first sitting of the 1st Saeima and the entry into force of the Constitution (Satversme).

On Tuesday, 1 November, the 14th Saeima elected Edvards Smiltēns as the Speaker of the Saeima.