Finnish, Latvian leaders stress shared interests

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and his Latvian counterpart Krišjānis Kariņš stressed on Thursday their countries' common interests and joint projects during their meeting in Latvia.

Speaking at a joint news conference following their talks, Kariņš praised his country's historically close and friendly relations with Finland and said they focused primarily on current European Union (EU) affairs, since Finland is scheduled to take over the bloc's rotating presidency on July 1 this year.

Being comparatively small countries, both Latvia and Finland believe in free trade as the cornerstone of economic growth and see no place for protectionism in the EU, Kariņš noted.

The two leaders praised their countries' cooperation on the Rail Baltica project, which aims to connect the Baltic states with the rest of Europe. Sipilä noted that the project is important to Finland's businesses and tourists as it will provide an alternative route across the region.

Sipilä also cited bilateral trade, saying approximately 400 Finnish enterprises are doing business in Latvia and a great number of Finnish tourists visit Latvia each year.

Sipilä thanked Latvia for supporting its upcoming presidency of the EU, saying Finland's priorities at the EU's helm will include economic growth, the internal market, security, defense cooperation, cybersecurity, as well as climate change.