Minister of Defense Atis Slakteris was on a working visit to the US from June 28 – July 8, 2007. During his visit, A. Slakteris met at the Pentagon with US Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, as well as with the Senate’s senior officials for foreign affairs and security policy, and with members of Washington “think tanks.” The meetings covered Latvia-US bilateral cooperation issues regarding defense and security policy, participation of both states in international missions, NATO partnership and future enlargement, and cooperation between the Alliance and the European Union. Minister Slakteris also visited Chicago, where he met with the local Latvian community. Cooperation with the US is one Latvia’s main priorities. Military cooperation between the two countries is planned within the framework of several programs; the most active cooperation is taking place as part of the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and the International Military Education and Training (IMET) programs.