On 29 June 2021, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andris Pelšs, participated via video-conferencing in the Three Seas Initiative Forum of Regions, which is taking place for a second time along with the first Local Government Economic Congress organised by Poland.
Andris Pelšs thanked Poland for its active involvement in the promotion of the Three Seas Initiative (TSI) development and cooperation between the region’s countries. Latvia sees the TSI as a cooperation platform of strategic importance for enhancing the region’s connectivity, as well as for promoting EU-level cohesion and strengthening the transatlantic bond.
The State Secretary informed the audience that the President of Latvia, Egils Levits, together with a business delegation intends to participate in this year’s TSI Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria.
At the video conference, the State Secretary underlined the need for raising the TSI’s profile and developing infrastructure projects important for the region. Representatives from the member states were in agreement that strengthening of cooperation at the national level and between the TSI countries at various levels of the public and private sectors is one of preconditions for a successful development of regional projects. In addition, strengthening of mutual cooperation to facilitate a rapid, flexible and green economic recovery is a common goal for all countries participating in the Three Seas Initiative.
Background information
The Three Seas Initiative (TSI) launched in 2016 is a regional economic cooperation platform established with the aim of bridging the existing connectivity gaps in the energy, transport infrastructure and digital communication sectors, reinforcing EU-level cohesion and the transatlantic bond. Previous Three Seas Initiative Summits took place in Croatia (2016), Poland (2017), Romania (2018), Slovenia (2019) and Estonia (2020); the sixth TSI Summit is to take place in Bulgaria on 8–9 July 2021.
The TSI is comprised of the 12 EU countries that are located between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. TSI partners are the USA, Germany and the European Commission.
The Three Seas Initiative was established with the goal developing a strong regional economic backbone, and providing a strategic platform for the implementation of major infrastructure projects. On 16 September 2020, a Latvian state-owned development finance institution, ALTUM, officially joined the TSI Investment Fund. Countries that have joined the TSI Investment Fund are Poland, Romania, Estonia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Croatia.
Find additional information on the Three Seas Initiative at: http://www.3seas.eu