"The joint visit of the Nordic and Baltic speakers marks the close and far-reaching cooperation between the countries of our region. Earlier, such visits have been made to Washington, Kiev and Tbilisi," said a release from the Estonian parliamentary speaker Eiki Nestor.
"In order to better understand China's economic development, NB8 national parliamentarians plan to visit Sichuan Province and meet with leaders from this and several other provinces. Speakers will also have meetings with young entrepreneurs in China's innovative economy," said a release from Latvia's Saeima.
During the visit, the speakers of the parliaments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway and Iceland plus the deputy speaker of the Swedish parliament (but no representative from Denmark is mentioned) will meet with the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.
The speakers of Nordic and Baltic parliaments will visit the Forbidden City in Beijing, which was the centre of Imperial China during the Ming and the Qing dynasties, from the beginning of the 15th century to 1912. Today it houses the Palace Museum. The itinerary also includes a visit to the Great Wall of China that stretches from the sea coast east of Beijing to the Gobi Desert in Gansu province in central China.
The NB8 format brings together the five Nordic countries - Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden - and the three Baltic States - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Within the framework of the NB8, there is regular meeting of prime ministers, parliamentarians, ministers and other officials.
