Lithuania set to ratify agreement with Latvia on emergency medical services in fall

VILNIUS - Following the renewal of an agreement between Lithuania and Latvia on emergency medical services at the border area, the Lithuanian Health Ministry expects it to be ratified during the fall session of the Seimas.

Ratification is necessary for the agreement to enter into force, the Health Ministry said last week.

Once ratified, the ambulance services of both countries will conclude a supplementary agreement setting out the exact procedures for requesting and providing assistance, as well as the procedures for registering and forwarding calls received from the border area.

Lithuanian Health Minister Arunas Dulkys and his Latvian counterpart Hosams Abu Meri signed the updated document in Joniskis, northern Lithuania, on Thursday.

The agreement stipulates that the Latvian and Lithuanian ambulance services will cooperate in terms of knowledge, information, human and technical resources to provide medical assistance to the border population in the event of mass disasters.

Lithuania and Latvia concluded the original agreement back in 2019.

According to the ministry, the need to renew the agreement with Latvia arose after the reorganization of the ambulance system last year.