On 8-9 October, BISS analysts paid a familiarization visit to Riga at the invitation of the Latvian Foreign Ministry. They met with members of the Latvian Saeima, officials at the Latvian Foreign Ministry and counterparts from the Latvian Institute of International Affairs. Those meetings focused on the bilateral relations between Belarus and Latvia, the political and economic situation in Belarus, and status of the Eastern Partnership. The BISS researchers also discussed potential topics for future studies and the format of further expert consultations.
On 9 October, the panel discussion “From the Vilnius Summit to the Riga Summit: Priorities, Goals, Achievements of the Eastern Partnership” was organized, attended by Natalia Gherman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova, Dzianis Melyantsou, BISS, Hrant Kostanyan, Associate Research Fellow of the Centre for European Policy Studies (Brussels), Kristi Raik with the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and Juris Poikāns, Ambassador at Large of the Latvian Foreign Ministry.
Latvia’s presidency in the European Union is scheduled for 2015, and the discussion paved the way for expert discussions of the chief priority of Latvia’s presidency in the EU — the Eastern Partnership.