Latvian president to meet Cowen as part of three-day visit

THE PRESIDENT of Latvia is due to meet members of the Latvian community in Dublin tomorrow as part of a three-day official visit to Ireland.

Valdis Zatlers will hold talks with Taoiseach Brian Cowen on Monday to discuss reform of the European Union and the global financial crisis, before going to Limerick where he will meet Latvian migrant workers.

Thousands of Latvians have moved to Ireland since the country became an EU member in 2004, when Ireland held the EU’s rotating presidency.

The 2006 census indicates that about 14,000 Latvians are living in Ireland. However, the Latvian embassy in Dublin estimates the real number is closer to 30,000.

Monday’s meeting with Latvians living and working in Dublin will take place at the European Commission’s building. It is also intended to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Latvian independence, which officially takes place on November 18th.

Latvia declared independence following the end of the first World War. After a period of independence, it went on to be occupied by both Germany and, later, the Soviet Union until the early 1990s.

At tomorrow’s event, the president will sign a 7km-long “Latvian unity belt”, which is inscribed with personal messages of thousands of Latvians around the world.

On Tuesday Mr Zatlers and his wife will travel to Limerick where they will visit a school and a local medical supplies firm that employs people from Latvia. The itinerary includes a meeting with the mayor of Limerick, John Gilligan.

Mr Zatlers will also open an exhibition on Latvia’s path to independence: People’s Front, the Singing Revolution: from the Renaissance to the European Union.

The Latvian president has a number of executive powers. A distinguished doctor, Mr Zatlers was elected president by Latvia’s parliament last year.

He is not a member of any political party, but he did play a role in Latvia’s fight for independence in the late 1980s.