Latvia and Lithuania consider annual full-cabinet government meetings
Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said after meeting Lithuanian PM Mindaugas Sinkevičius that the two countries may hold annual meetings of their full governments. Talks also covered cultural cooperation, migration, Rail Baltica and Russian hybrid threats.
The governments of Latvia and Lithuania could meet once a year in full composition to discuss issues relevant to both countries. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs raised this idea after meeting in Riga today with Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius, noting that the proposal was originally put forward by Sinkevičius himself. According to Kulbergs, such meetings could cover not only security and transport but also culture, health and other topics.
Cultural cooperation
Kulbergs said Latvia could deepen cooperation with Lithuania and Estonia in areas such as film production, which he believes would attract greater investment to the sector. Sinkevičius proposed creating a forum named after poet Jānis Rainis, where artists and creative industry representatives from both countries could meet and exchange ideas. Both leaders agreed there is broad potential for cultural cooperation.
After the meeting, Kulbergs expressed satisfaction that he and Sinkevičius were "on the same wavelength," as both come from a business background and understand the importance of economics for national growth. He also stressed that since Latvia and Lithuania are both on the EU's eastern flank bordering an aggressor state, they should not act as competitors but, together with Estonia, remain united.
Border security and migration
The Latvian prime minister thanked Lithuania for 20 border guards assisting their Latvian counterparts and briefed Sinkevičius on the recently launched operation "Vilkatis" aimed at curbing illegal migration. Sinkevičius acknowledged that secondary migration from Latvia remains an issue for Lithuania — around 1,900 illegal migrants have crossed the border this way since the start of the year — though the situation has recently improved.
Rail Baltica and security
The two leaders also discussed the Rail Baltica railway project. Kulbergs proposed forming a joint Baltic cooperation team to meet regularly on the issue, noting that all three countries face similar challenges. Sinkevičius emphasized that Rail Baltica is a regional rather than a single-country project, welcoming the political will shown by all three Baltic leaders to pursue it.
Kulbergs also commented on recent Russian sabotage incidents — the arson of a warehouse belonging to a Ukraine-support organization in Latvia and the malicious burning of a defense technology company's building in Estonia. He noted that Baltic security services are cooperating on investigating such hybrid attacks and urged defense-sector companies to strengthen their security practices.
