Moldovan representatives of local governments share experiences with Latvian partners

From 25 to 29 June, the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments (LALRG) has invited the representatives of local authorities of Moldova and the Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova (CALM) for a study visit. The aim of the visit was to share experiences, but also to present to the representatives of the delegation best practice on sustainable development of municipalities. They also got acquainted with LALRG’s main functions, goals and challenges, especially LALRG’s role in the negotiation process with the central government.

During the visit, the delegation met with LALRG’s Chairman, Mr Gints Kaminskis, and advisers of LALRG. Likewise, the delegation had an opportunity to visit the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova to the Republic of Latvia and attend the international conference “Innovative Decentralised Cooperation for the Eastern Partnership” organised by the PLATFORMA and LALRG. The delegation also visited Jelgava and Bauska municipalities to discuss the issues relevant for the development of local governments in both countries, current cooperation activities and possible further cooperation possibilities between Latvian and Moldovan municipalities.

The Chairman of LALRG Mr Gints Kaminskis stated: “We are pleased that cooperation with CALM has been really active and constructive since 2010. There have been a lot of investments to establish good exchange of experience, implementation of ideas and succeed development cooperation activities for example, how to provide citizens with high-quality services in the municipality.”

The aim of the visit was to further develop cooperation with municipalities of the Eastern Partnership countries, which are priority partner countries of Latvia in development cooperation.

The study visit was organized as part of activities of the Framework Partnership Agreement signed between the PLATFORMA and the European Commission.