RIGA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Member states must strengthen their resolve to defend the idea of the European Union (EU) because the future of Europe will not be decided in London or Washington, Luxembourg's Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Jean Asselborn said during his visit here on Tuesday.
The agenda of Asselborn's visit included meetings with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics and Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis.
Asselborn believed that the future of the EU must not hinge on who becomes the next U.S. president or British prime minister.
Europe must go on. This is a peace project. And "we have to do everything we can, as Brexit is not the only challenge," said the visiting minister. Such challenges also exist within the bloc, Asselborn added.
The foreign ministers of Luxembourg and Latvia agreed on the importance of NATO for European and transatlantic security, dismissing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's remarks about the alliance as an obsolete organization.
"I do not believe that it is in the U.S.'s interests to weaken NATO," Asselborn said.
During the meeting with Luxembourg's minister, Kucinskis underlined the importance of boosting allied presence in the Baltic states and Poland.
Speaking of Latvia's bilateral relations with Luxembourg, Kucinskis noted an untapped potential for economic exchange.
The Latvian prime minister believed the two countries should step up cooperation on information and communication technologies as both of them consider themselves to be strong in this field.
