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“A strong and united NATO is more crucial now than ever before. Our capabilities in air defence, particularly in counter-drone defence, are improving, but more must be done and decisions must be made more swiftly,” highlighted Daiga Mieriņa, Speaker of the Saeima, while addressing her counterparts at the NATO Parliamentary Summit in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Monday, 29 June.

“We call on the Allies to deploy air defence capabilities and aircraft at the Lielvārde Air Base within the “Eastern Sentry” mission,” said Speaker Mieriņa. She emphasised that Ukraine’s experience must also be considered and that the best solutions should be integrated not only into individual allied defence industries, but also into NATO capability planning.

The Speaker of the Saeima noted that by supporting Ukraine today, we deter potential aggressors from future provocations. “The ‘peace through strength’ approach is the most effective way to end this horrific war with a just and lasting peace,” said Speaker Mieriņa.

In Istanbul, the Speaker of the Saeima met with Numan Kurtulmuş, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, to discuss closer economic and security cooperation. The parties highlighted the strong cooperation between the parliaments of both countries. Speaker Mieriņa thanked Türkiye for its contribution to strengthening security of NATO’s eastern flank and expressed Latvia’s appreciation of Türkiye’s expertise in drone technologies.

The Speaker of the Saeima also met with Claude Wiseler, President of the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg, to discuss cooperation in space technologies. Latvian companies offer high-quality telecommunications and digital infrastructure solutions that are also important for operators in Luxembourg.

During the visit, Speaker Mieriņa is also scheduled to visit Baykar Technologies—a defence and technology company developing some of the world’s most advanced unmanned aerial vehicles.

Ahead of the NATO Summit in Ankara, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly is holding its third Parliamentary Summit in Istanbul on 28–29 June, bringing together speakers of parliaments from across the Alliance. This year’s Summit highlights NATO’s parliamentary dimension and underscores the perspectives of Allied parliaments on NATO’s key priorities at a time of particular significance for both North America and Europe.

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Saeima Press Service