On 17 December, at Lielā Ģilde, State Secretary Andrejs Pildegovičs and the Rector of the Riga Graduate School of Law, George Ulrich, congratulated students from Eastern Partnership and Central Asian countries upon their graduation from the Advanced Programme in Law and Economics.
In his remarks, State Secretary expressed hope that the time spent at the RGSL will be like a stepping stone for the participants in their further professional careers and efforts to achieve success in academic, political and economic life. We found true satisfaction, said Andrejs Pildegovičs, in sharing our experience – what we did right and what we did not so well during the past 25 years in our own development.
The State Secretary also noted that not only was it important to invest in the education of future leaders and share in Latvia’s experience but also to enable the building of mutual friendships and partnerships for the further successful cooperation, development and growth. Latvia certainly sees the Eastern Partnership and Central Asian countries and their communities as friends and significant partners today and in the future, Andrejs Pildegovičs noted.
The Eastern Partnership and Central Asian countries are important partners to Latvia, as demonstrated by Latvia’s foreign policy and how it has been consistently implemented. The Programme has proved to be a sustainable project that is increasing Latvia’s visibility as a knowledge transfer hub for countries of neighbouring regions.
During the autumn semester, 39 young leaders representing the civil society and public administration of the Eastern Partnership and Central Asian countries – Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, and Azerbaijan – were trained in Latvia. As part of the programme, the participants also made study trips to Brussels and Luxembourg. The study programme was established in 2014 and is coordinated by the Riga Graduate School of Law. Until now, 70 trainees from partner countries have been educated in Latvia and they can apply their newly acquired knowledge for the benefit of their home countries.
The programme is partly financed from the Latvian state budget for development cooperation. Major contributions are also received from other countries – the United States of America, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Luxembourg.