Today, on 1 March, Minister of Education, Culture and Research, Monica Babuc, had a meeting with the Latvian Minister of Culture, Dace Melbarde, who is in one official visit in Republic of Moldova from 28 February to 3 March.

At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Monica Babuc thanked his Latvian counterpart for accepted the invitation to visit Moldova and congratulated her with marking in 2018 the centenary of proclaiming Latvia's independence. The official stressed the friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries, in the most diverse areas, proof of this being numerous joint projects, cultural exchanges, and mobility programs that enhance mutual knowledge.

In turn, Minister Dace Melbarde thanked for the invitation to visit the Republic of Moldova, noting with satisfaction that the Moldovan-Latvian bilateral relations are making tangible progress. At the same time, the official mentioned that the Republic of Moldova can count on Latvia's support in the European integration process.

The officials discussed about the perspectives of the development of cinematography by promoting the Moldovan film in Latvia and vice versa, the realization of cinematographic co-productions, the development of creative industries by strengthening cooperation within the Creative Europe Program, the digitization of the cultural heritage,  projects financing in the field of arts education, the development of creative hubs, the exchange of experience in the field of cultural management, the take over the experience of Latvia in introducing ,,media literacy” classes in educational institutions, social insurance of artists. Minister Monica Babuc welcomed the participation in this year's edition of the ,,Mărţişor” Festival of the Latvian ,,Mirage” Jazz Band. In the context, the parties agreed to facilitate the participation of artists and artistic groups in the cultural events in the two states.

At the same time, the officials discussed about preservation and of cultural goods. Monica Babuc mentioned that Latvian legislation in the protection and restoration of cultural heritage objectives is a model for the Republic of Moldova, requesting in this regard the expertise of the Latvian side.

During the mentioned period, Minister Dace Melbarde will visit several cultural institutions: the National Art Museum, the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History, the Academy of Music, Theater and Fine Arts, the Organ Hall, as well as the workshops ,,Casa Cristea” and ,,Rustic Art” from Clişova Nouă, Orhei district.

The Latvian official will also take part in the opening ceremony of the International Music Festival ,,Mărţişor – 2018”.