Vice
President Biden met today with Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia
Maris Kucinskis in Riga. The Vice President emphasized the unshakable
U.S. commitment to the
security of the Baltic states and welcomed the steps Latvia is taking
to strengthen its national defense, including by increasing defense
spending to 2 percent of GDP by 2018. The two leaders agreed on the
importance of expanding trade and investment ties
between the United States and Latvia.
The Vice President congratulated
the Prime Minister on Latvia’s accession to the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and welcomed Prime Minister
Kucinskis’ commitment to continue implementing OECD
recommendations, including reform of Latvia’s state-owned enterprises.
Underscoring the progress Latvia has made in tightening regulation of
its banking sector and cracking down on money laundering, the Vice
President encouraged Prime Minister Kucinskis to
take further steps to improve Latvia’s investment climate. The Vice
President urged comprehensive reform to improve transparency, reduce
corruption, and regain public confidence.
The Vice President also
encouraged Prime Minister Kucinskis to pursue reforms
to increase the efficiency and transparency of the judicial system,
noting that slow and opaque court proceedings are a significant obstacle
to greater investment by U. S. companies in Latvia.
In addition, Vice President Biden met with President of the Republic of Latvia Raimonds Vejonis in Riga today. The two leaders welcomed the decisions taken at last month’s NATO Summit in Warsaw to strengthen security along the Alliance’s eastern border, and the Vice President emphasized the ironclad U.S. commitment to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.
The Vice President also welcomed the
progress Latvia has made in improving its national
resilience, including its efforts to liberalize the gas sector, and
reduce illegal activity in the banking system.
Source: The White House, Office of the Vice President
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