President Valdis Zatlers will open the annual board meeting of the World Federation of Free Latvians (Pasaules brīvo latviešu apvienība, or PBLA), the president’s press office announced after a July 30 meeting with federation chairperson Jānis Kukainis.

The half-hour meeting between Zatlers and Kukainis also resulted in the president accepting an invitation to speak during a PBLA-sponsored conference on media and democracy in Latvia. Both events are scheduled for early September in Rīga.

Zatlers thanked the federation for its work so far and stressed the PBLA’s continuing importance in strengthening Latvian identity abroad, the press office said.