On 9–10 October, President Edgars Rinkēvičs participated in the Arraiolos Group meeting, held this year in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Together with the Heads of State of Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and Slovenia, the President of Latvia took part in working sessions on artificial intelligence, the situation in the Middle East, and global security policy issues.
President Rinkēvičs underlined that Europe must fully harness the opportunities provided by artificial intelligence and technology for the benefit of society, while remaining vigilant about potential risks. “Artificial intelligence has become an integral part of our daily lives. We must work to make it safer and to ensure it delivers greater benefits to our citizens. Artificial intelligence should be integrated into the education process and developed in smaller languages too,” said President Rinkēvičs.
The President expressed satisfaction that the Latvian language technology company “Tilde” is successfully developing digital tools for the preservation and development of the Latvian language as well as other languages. At the same time, E. Rinkēvičs stressed the importance of developing the ability to safeguard democratic processes, particularly the conduct of elections.
In his address on the situation in the Middle East, the President emphasised that Latvia welcomes the comprehensive plan proposed by the United States to end hostilities in Gaza. At this moment, it is crucial that Hamas agree to fully implement the plan for the sake of a better and more peaceful future for Israelis, Palestinians, and the entire Middle East region. E. Rinkēvičs expressed his hope that all hostages will be released very soon, sufficient humanitarian aid will be provided, and the suffering of innocent civilians will come to an end. The President also pointed out that Hamas must lay down its arms and cease to exist, as a terrorist organisation that committed unspeakable atrocities two years ago cannot have a role in governing Palestine in the future.
During the meeting, the parties also discussed the current security situation in Europe and elsewhere in the world, with particular focus on the hybrid threats posed by Russia.
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The Arraiolos Group is a meeting format for the presidents of the member states of the European Union, attended by the presidents of parliamentary republics whose duties do not include executive functions. The first meeting of the group, initiated by the then President of Portugal, Jorge Sampaio, took place in 2003 in Arraiolos, Portugal.
