It is an honour for my colleagues and I to meet the committee at a historic time, as Latvia commemorates the 15th anniversary since the restoration of its independence after almost 50 years of Soviet occupation and proceeds with the renewal of diplomatic relations with Ireland, a country with which Latvia shares many common characteristics and interests.
For every new EU member and candidate country alike, Ireland - having perfectly mastered the art of maximizing the opportunities that EU membership provides - is the one success story they wish to emulate, the one country to which everyone wants to go, not to leave. If the trend continues, Ireland will soon need a ministry of Latvian affairs.
Lacking in natural resources, with the exception of ice-free ports and timber, Latvia has learned from the Irish experience that human resources are its most valued commodity. In our newly approved national development plan we have clearly stated our priorities, namely, education, innovations and competitiveness.
What brings us here is not only our mutual membership of the EU, but the fact that we, as small countries, need to pool our efforts to make ourselves felt in an ever more competitive and dangerous world. We share experiences that form the foundation of ever closer ties - an unwavering love of freedom, an independent spirit that hardships cannot extinguish, a love of music and cultural traditions, as well as historic ties with our closest neighbours that are, at times, complicated yet pragmatically essential.
Latvia has a small, but politically strong, émigré community, although it lacks the impact in sheer numbers of the Irish diaspora. Having spent most of my life in the United States, even now I am so conditioned that on 17 March I go to work in the Latvian Parliament wearing green.
Since becoming a member of the EU and NATO, one of the most frequently asked questions is whether Latvia needs its own foreign policy. The answer is a resounding "Yes" because national interests and national identity require sustained attention. Foreign policy formulation and implementation have become more complex since our accession to the EU. We not only need to co-ordinate our foreign policy initiatives bilaterally, but also within the confines of our membership in EU, NATO and other international organisations. We wish to learn from your considerable experience how best to balance our specific foreign policy interests with those of common EU initiatives.
For the next five years, Latvia has clearly defined its foreign policy goals: to become an equal partner with equal rights in an economically competitive EU; to support a sustained EU-transatlantic partnership; and to actively participate in democratic and economic transformation in our neighbourhood, namely, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Azerbaijan and Armenia. We are not satisfied to be just gatekeepers to preserve that which we have so far achieved, but also, poetically speaking, we wish to "extend" our borders by sharing our recent experiences in democracy-building and market-economy reforms with our neighbours.
Latvia has the most dynamic growth in the EU and it is predicted to have the highest rise in wages in the coming year of any country in the world. Taking into consideration our history as an occupied country, we still consider security, in the broadest sense of the word, our top priority. I characterise our approach or doctrine as security risk management. On the one hand we have chosen to become members of the EU and NATO and have developed a strong strategic partnership with the US, countries with which we share common interests and values while, on the other, we are developing pragmatic economic relations with countries whose value systems greatly contrast with our own. In other words, we do not place all our security eggs in one basket. Security risk management is why we have chosen to participate in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and Georgia.
The NATO summit in Riga in November is affirmation of our considerable commitment to investment in security issues. For all of us, energy security is becoming the one major foreign policy concern that threatens to dislodge the international order on which we have come to depend. Both in the war on terror and the struggle for energy superiority to which is added the lethal ingredient of religious fundamentalism, there are already clearly defined winners and losers, the latter being innocent lives and civil liberties lost and the winners being oil producing nations for whom profits, not values, count. On this issue we need to combine our efforts to forge a common EU policy.
Within the EU, we also need to develop a common approach in our relations with Russia, a country with tremendous underdeveloped potential. We, as Russia's neighbours, want nothing more than a democratic and prosperous Russia. However, normalisation of relations can only occur if they are based on mutual respect between sovereign nations, non-interference in their internal affairs and consistency of relations not only bilaterally but also in international organisations. As it does not serve Russia's interest to be treated differently in respect of complying with internationally accepted standards of behaviours, it does not serve our mutual security interests that any one of Russia's neighbours receives differential treatment based on geopolitical expediency. The words "reconciliation" and "understanding" in Ireland's foreign policy strategic paper are still foreign when it comes to Russia's relations with its neighbours, primarily because of different interpretations of Second World War history.
With regard to the election of a new UN Secretary General, the three Baltic countries have nominated Latvia's President, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, for the position. We believe she is the best qualified candidate having proven herself internationally in respect of an unwavering commitment to peace as well as UN reform. We would truly be grateful for the committee's support for her candidacy.
Following the collapse of the USSR, a new world order emerged through democratic transformation. It seems that in the coming years unpredictability will be the order of the day in international relations. The only constant is solidarity and trust among nations with common values and principles. That is why I am convinced of the benefits of an ever closer partnership between Latvia and Ireland, especially at parliamentary level.
I thank committee members for giving us the opportunity to meet them. On 7 October, we will have a general election in Latvia. Nonetheless, I extend a cordial invitation to the committee to visit Latvia, regardless of the election outcome.
