Raimonds Vējonis
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On 13 February 2019, 13 young people from all over Latvia had the opportunity to familiarise with the working day of President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis at Riga Castle during the Shadow Day.

At the beginning of the working day, the young people familiarised with the daily work of the President of Latvia, and each of the attendees had the opportunity to tell about their future choices and plans in terms of education and occupation.

In their turn, during the meeting of President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis and Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, the Shadows of both the President of Latvia and the Prime Minister were able to follow the meeting, where both officials discussed current government issues.

After the meeting, the Shadows took part in a press conference where media representatives were introduced to the proceedings of the meeting. The President of Latvia emphasised that shaping a non-deficit budget in the long term was crucial for Latvia, as the development of the global economy was fluctuating and Latvia should also be prepared for a situation where economic growth would no longer run as fast as before. “To overcome such challenges, in particular, we must build up an internal financial reserve or savings in due time,” stated Raimonds Vējonis.

During the Wednesday meeting, the President of Latvia and the Prime Minister also discussed Brexit-related issues. The President of Latvia noted that the government should work on issues that affected not only the future relations of British citizens and companies with Latvia, but it also should find solutions to support nationals of our country after the United Kingdom would withdraw from the European Union. “In a situation where Brexit will happen still without an agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union, the Latvian authorities must be prepared for new situations such as border controls, customs and taxation,” noted the President of Latvia.

As the Shadow Day continued, the Shadows had the opportunity to participate in the meeting of President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis and Commander of the National Armed Forces Leonīds Kalniņš, when both officials discussed the current developments in the Latvian army and discussed the role of young people in the national defence system.

This year, the President of Latvia was shadowed by students from grade 6 to 12 from Alūksne, Cēsis, Madona, Preiļi, Rīga, Salacgrīva, Saldus, and Valmiera.

The goal of the Shadow Day is to introduce students to the demands of different professions and sectors to help young people choose their occupation.