Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 September 2021
30. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the recent visit by the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs to Latvia and Estonia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46843/21]
View answerMy colleague the Minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, T.D., undertook a working visit to Latvia and Estonia from 5th to 7th September 2021. The visit marked the thirtieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ireland and the Baltic States following the re-establishment of independence in 1991.
The Minister’s programme included a wide range of engagements in both Riga and Tallinn and the main topics discussed were Rule of Law, Belarus, Future of Europe and Brexit.
In Riga, Minister Byrne met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia to discuss a number of issues, including the bilateral relationship, and EU and international issues. The Minister also met the Latvian Interior Minister, Ms Marija Golubeva, to discuss recent developments in the Baltic region. Also in Riga on Monday 6th, the Minister spoke at the prestigious Riga Graduate School of Law on the subject of “Our Future in Europe: 30 Years of Diplomatic Relations between Ireland and the Republic of Latvia".
Among the Minister’s engagements in Riga on Tuesday was a meeting with the Chair of the European Affairs Committee and the Deputy Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Chair of the Group for promoting cooperation with the Oireachtas. The Minister also visited Riga’s LGBT House and the Museum of the 1991 Barricades, which commemorates the events leading up to Latvia’s independence from the Soviet Union.
On Wednesday in the Estonian capital Tallinn, Minister Byrne met with Märt Volmer, Estonia’s Undersecretary for European Affairs to discuss issues on the EU agenda. He visited the Embassy of Ireland to officially open the Embassy’s new Chancery and also visited the Estonian Parliament for a meeting with its European Union Affairs Committee.
