The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference holds its 25th annual conference on 28-30 August 2016 in Riga. The Latvian parliament is host of this Silver Jubilee edition under the chairmanship of the BSPC-President and President of the Baltic Assembly Prof. Dr. Jānis Vucāns. Around 200 parliamentarians, ambassadors of the Baltic Sea States in Latvia, experts and other invited guests participate in the conference.
The conference takes place under the heading “High Quality Education and Labour – The Future of the Baltic Sea Region”. The BSPC President welcomed the participants on Monday morning, followed by welcome addresses by the President of the Republic of Latvia, Mr Raimonds Vejonis, and the Speaker of the Latvian Parliament, Ms Inara Murniece.
President of Latvia Raimonds Vejonis underlined the significance of high quality education and dynamic labor market in the Baltic Sea region at the opening of the 25th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference on August 29 in Riga. In his address to the participants of the conference, he noted that the education systems of our countries played a crucial role in fostering and raising the competitiveness of the Baltic Sea Region not only at the European level, but also in the global context.
Education is the foundation of our well-being.
“Universities are centers of knowledge and innovation. The integration of research, higher education, and industry has to be the priority of our efforts. Through this integration, we can achieve increased knowledge-based development of our economy and exports and raise our global competitiveness,” Raimonds Vejonis stated.
The President noted that wide labor opportunities were crucial for the future of the region, as Latvia and the neighboring countries in Baltics faced the challenge of movement of people, especially young people, to the countries with higher welfare standards.
“The countries in the Baltic Sea region must continue working together to ensure the best opportunities for young people so that they can become active members of the labour market and contributors to the economic well-being of our communities,” called Raimonds Vējonis
In his speech, the President of Latvia briefly turned to sustainable tourism, which is one of the growth areas of our economies. The Baltic Sea States met one of the highest levels of biodiversity and unique cultural richness in Europe, which provided excellent resources for the development of sustainable tourism in this region.
In conclusion, the President of Latvia pointed out that the countries of the Baltic Sea region should aim to achieve a more coordinated approach to preservation, prevention of pollution, and use of the Baltic Sea.
View the full program of the 25th BSPC.
