During his working visit to the United States, Aigars Kalvitis, Prime Minister of Latvia, met with Vice President of the United States Richard B. Cheney. The meeting took place October 31, 2007 at the White House. The Prime Minister emphasised that the United States is an ally and strategic partner of Latvia, and highly acknowledged support of the United States regarding Latvia’s integration into NATO and for organizing the NATO Summit of 2006 in Riga. The close partnership between the two countries is evidenced by two visits of President George Bush to Riga in the last two years. The Prime Minister noted that the Neighbourhood Policy of the EU is a long-term foreign policy priority of Latvia, and informed the U.S. Vice-President about Latvia’s experience in the implementation of development cooperation projects. Aigars Kalvitis and the U.S. Vice-President discussed energy issues, and shared the view that it is important to cooperate and undertake joint measures in the area of energy security. The officials discussed topical security policy issues, and the Prime Minister informed the American side about involvement of Latvia’s armed forces in international operations and on future plans. Concerning international matters, Latvia's Prime Minister emphasized that it is essential to not only resolve conflicts by military means, but to contribute to the country’s restoration and recovering. Sending of a Latvian political advisor to Afghanistan has been performed within a new integrated approach with regard to international operations; this approach envisages participation in the stabilisation and restoration phase following the military operations by ensuring rule of law and improving the social and economic situation. Aigars Kalvitis and Richard B. Cheney discussed political matters in the context of the NATO Summit in Bucharest scheduled for April 2008. The Prime Minister urged the U.S. Vice-President to promote accession of Latvia and other EU Member States to the U.S. visa-free regime as soon as possible. Aigars Kalvitis noted that the Minister of Interior Ivars Godmanis is also included in the Latvian delegation, demonstrating Latvia’s commitment to comply with the relevant security criteria defined by the United States in order to ensure a visa-free regime for Latvia’s tourists travelling to the United States.