Latvian President compares Helsinki and Riga

Latvia’s President Vaira Vike-Freiberga visited the Helsinki City Council Tuesday, saying she hoped Helsinki and Riga would be connected by a high-speed railroad and direct ferry line in the future. She praised the airline service between both cities, while noting the Via Baltica highway—reconstructed with funds from the European Union—is a high-speed corridor for cars and buses. “High-speed corridor” is high praise, indeed. But we believe “death trap” would be more accurate. The president obviously has not seen the quality workmanship done with the EU funds.
In her speech, Vike-Freiberga said there were many similarities between Helsinki and Riga: both cities face similar challenges and opportunities, Helsinki and Riga are relatively small cities in relatively small European countries, both are tourist destinations with well-developed transportation networks. She also called on Helsinki to work together to promote bilateral tourism.