H.C Olena Vyshniakova attends the 7th Meeting of the Honorary Consuls of the Republic of Latvia in Riga from 6 – 8 July

The Seventh Meeting of the Honorary Consuls of Latvia took place in Riga from July 6th to July 8th and welcomed over one hundred Honorary Consuls from fifty countries. H.C Olena Vyshniakova was honored to attend the event on behalf of Ukraine.

The agenda of the meeting included discussions on foreign policy issues including the priorities of the upcoming Presidency of Latvia of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2015, the economic situation in Latvia after the introduction of the Euro, tourism development, and promotion of Latvia’s culture while Riga remains European Capital of Culture.

On Monday, July 7th, Honorary Consuls were addressed by Laimdota Straujuma, Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia, and Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs. The July 7th working session of the meeting was opened by Andrejs Pildegovičs, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. President of the Republic Andris Bērziņš hosted an evening reception for the Honorary Consuls at the House of the Blackheads.

During the meeting, H.C Olena Vyshniakova had the opportunity to meet with Vjačeslavs Dombrovskis, the Minister of Economy; Ilmārs Rimšēvičs, Governor of the Bank of Latvia; Inga Skujiņa, Director of the Secretariat of Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union; Karina Pētersone, Director of Latvian Institute; Andris Vilks, Director of the National Library of Latvia; Nils Ušakovs, Chairman of Riga City Council; and Arnis Cimdars, Chairman of the Central Election Commission.

As part of the two-day visit an introductory meeting was set up between H.C Olena Vyshniakova and Arturs Mangulis, Mayor of Ogre, sister city of Chernihiv since 2007. Many potential cultural and educational exchanges were proposed by both sides to enhance the cooperation between the two municipalities. It is evident that both Ukrainian and Latvian representatives are committed to developing a special bond for collaboration in the fields of trade, economy and culture thereby creating a basis for long term cooperation activities between Chernihiv and Ogre. It was agreed that H.C Olena Vyshniakova is to visit Ogre on her next official trip to Latvia.