“Latvia beats in our hearts! We are Latvia with our history, countryside, cities and people, whose hands hold our future,” said the Speaker of the Saeima, Daiga Mieriņa, on Saturday, May 4, at the ceremonial session of the Saeima, which was convened in honor of the Independence Day of the Republic of Latvia. The Speaker of the Saeima emphasized that today we celebrate a holiday when we bow our heads in gratitude to our compatriots, who dared to implement the idea of Latvia with their thoughts and deeds.
“The greatest value of our country is next to us – these are our people who selflessly do their daily work and carry the name of Latvia to the world. All together, we make Latvia as it is and will be,” said the Speaker of the Saeima. “While celebrating the holiday of regaining the independence of our country, let’s appreciate what we already have: we are a free country, we can speak Latvian freely, we can travel freely, we are in the European Union, we are a member of NATO,” said D. Mieriņa.
The Speaker of the Saeima emphasized that this year we are celebrating 20 years since we have been in the European Union and NATO, and thanked those who purposefully and persistently worked for the strengthening of statehood through Latvia’s membership in these organizations. “We can compare numbers, economic indicators, standard of living and quality of services then and now. There is no doubt about the stable growth of Latvia,” said the Speaker of the Saeima, emphasizing at the same time that we have no shortage of challenges, including in connection with strengthening labor productivity, digitization and effective use of artificial intelligence.
“We are all part of Europe! We are united by freedom, democracy and the rule of law. And we support cooperation with all countries that share these values, because we believe that only in such a world is sustainable development and peace possible,” said D. Mieriņa.
The Speaker of the Saeima highlighted Latvia’s accession to NATO 20 years ago as one of the most important decisions since the restoration of national independence. “Participation in the alliance has enabled the development of the armed forces and guaranteed the development of the level of national defense in accordance with the security situation in the world and in the region,” said the Speaker of the Saeima, while emphasizing that the defense of our country is primarily our own responsibility.
“We are committed to protecting our country from the first centimeter! The guarantor of our security is not only the armed forces and weapons, but comprehensive national defense and the responsibility of every citizen is to participate in this system,” said D. Mieriņa, including emphasizing the need to strengthen the information space with quality content.
Turning to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, the Speaker of the Saeima noted that it is not a regional challenge, but a matter of global security and stability, and our response to this aggression must go beyond strengthening military defense and strengthening Ukraine’s military capabilities.
“We believe in the victory of Ukraine! We will all help to achieve it! Thank you to the people of Latvia, entrepreneurs, non-governmental organizations – everyone who finds an opportunity to get involved and with their work, their means and knowledge help Ukraine achieve victory in this war! With joint efforts and not giving in to fatigue – the war is winnable!” said D. Mieriņa.
Saeima Press Service
