Latvia and Germany have close and friendly relations on all fronts, and it is in the interest of both countries to strengthen these ties. This was emphasised by Solvita Ābotiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on Monday, 17 September, when she met with the delegation of the German – Baltic Parliamentary Friendship Group of the German Bundestag.

Along with the parliaments of 11 other EU member states, the Saeima succeeded in making the EU withdraw the proposal for a regulation on the exercise of the right to take collective action within the context of the freedom to provide services, commonly referred to as the Monti II Regulation.

On Thursday, 13 September, the Saeima adopted in the final reading amendments to the Law on the State Budget for 2012, thus supporting allocation of more than 88 million lats for priority measures in such areas as transport, health-care, welfare, interior affairs, culture and education, as well as funds for several other initiatives.The amendments were adopted with 88 votes for, none against and 2 abstaining.

Turkmenistan is a promising partner for our country in Central Asia, and all the necessary prerequisites exist in order to develop closer economic cooperation, emphasised Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, on Tuesday, 11 September, when meeting with the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, in the main building of the Saeima.

On Thursday, 6 September, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Citizenship Law in the second reading; these amendments will enable Latvian expatriates to acquire dual citizenship, Latvians in exile and their descendants to retain their citizenship, and ethnic Latvians and Livs permanently residing outside Latvia to be granted citizenship. The amendments will also set forth how citizenship is granted to children born in Latvia of non-citizens and to children born abroad into families of Latvian citizens.

On Thursday, 6 September, at the opening of an exhibition “The World @ Your Library – Exploring UNESCO’s World Heritage” in the Grand Vestibule of the Saeima, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, stressed that our cultural and natural treasures are a unique heritage for Latvia and the world and that libraries are sources of information about it.

On Tuesday, 4 September, Solvita Āboltiņa, Speaker of the Saeima, met with Mark Pekala, the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Latvia. In welcoming her guest to the Saeima, Āboltiņa emphasised that this year marks the 90th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Latvia and the USA and that parliamentary cooperation has played a crucial role over the decades. Latvia considers the USA to be a strategic partner; therefore, it is important to ensure close cooperation at the political level, as well as in the business environment and the security and defence sectors.