Kozlovskis, who is on a working visit to Belarus until Thursday, met with Belarus Interior Minister Igor Shunevich to discuss measures towards strengthening cooperation of the two countries’ law enforcement agencies, the Latvian Interior Ministry announced.
The memorandum of cooperation provides for expansion of bilateral cooperation in fighting crime, outlining specific forms of cooperation for more effective evaluation of the results and strategic planning for further joint actions.
During the meeting with his Belarus counterpart Kozlovskis said the memorandum of cooperation would not only provide impetus for strengthening existing cooperation but also contribute to thedevelopment of cooperation on a new level.
"There will always be issues that neighboring countries can only tackle together. The interior authorities of our countries have already built up good cooperation and achieved good results in fighting cross-border organized crime and illegal migration, for example. But the changing situation presents new opportunities for more active cooperation and sharing of best practices,” Kozlovskis said.
On behalf of Latvia, the measures prescribed in the memorandum of cooperation will be implemented by the Latvian State Police, the Security Police and the Border Guard.
In 2007 Latvia and Belarus already signed an agreement on cooperation in the fight against organized crime, drugs, terrorism and other crimes.
The memorandum has been agreed in the wake of Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs' recent visit to Minsk in February.
