RIGA, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) High Commissioner on National Minorities Lamberto Zannier arrived in Latvia for a three-day visit on Wednesday, with education, social cohesion and citizenship featuring high on agenda, the Latvian Foreign Ministry said.
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics, who met with Zannier in Riga, briefed the OSCE high commissioner on Latvia's society integration and minority policies, as well as ongoing reforms in the education sector.
"The Latvian government is committed to continuing the education reform providing for gradually increasing the use of the state language in the education process. The aim of the reform is to provide equal education opportunities to all school graduates without any kind of discrimination," the foreign minister told Zannier.
In the conversation with Rinkevics, the OSCE high commissioner praised Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis' legislative initiative that would grant Latvian citizenship to all children of Latvia's non-citizens at birth. Vejonis announced on Wednesday he would put the draft legislation before the parliament by the end of this month.
During his visit to Riga, Zannier is also scheduled to meet with Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, other high ranked government and municipal officials, as well as nongovernmental groups.
