Guidelines for the Nordic Council of Ministers’ cooperation with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 2009-2013 were approved at the 60th session of the Nordic Council in Finland’s Helsinki on October 27.

According to the new document, the cooperation between the Nordic and the Baltic countries must be based on the principles of equality and common values, such as democracy, good governance, freedom of speech, tolerance.

Purposeful cooperation between the Nordic countries and the Baltic countries will help develop a strong Baltic Sea region, attractive to people, businessmen, investors and labor force, says the document.

The guidelines name education, research and innovations, entrepreneurship, environment, climate and energy, international challenges as well as regional cooperation as the cooperation priorities, reports LETA.

Finland’s Minister for Nordic Cooperation Jan Vapaavuori said, addressing participants in the Nordic Council meeting, that the Nordic countries had always had very good cooperation with the Baltic countries, and pointed out that the new guidelines would help develop a strong Baltic Sea region.

The Baltic Assembly President Trivimi Velliste reminded that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania celebrate the 90th anniversary of their independence this year. Velliste went on to say that new challenges emerge in the world, which is why countries have to develop closer cooperation.

(Alla Petrova, The Baltic Course, October 28, 2008)

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