RIGA, March 16 (LETA) - Latvia's two top priorities are security and economic growth, Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens, chairman of Unity party, said on Saturday while addressing New Unity political alliance's members during the presentation of New Unity tickets for the upcoming local elections.

New Unity will run in elections in 36 cities, towns and regions - both individually and jointly with other parties, said Aseradens.

"You are members of a systemic party that is represented in the regions," said Aseradens. "It is represented at the national level - in Saeima, in the government, in the European Parliament and in the European Commission," he said.

He believes that New Unity has done a very good job preparing for the local elections, and that the alliance will be supported on all political levels.

Aseradens also praised work being done by Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity), because there are different opinions coming from all sides, but one has to uphold his or her values, trust their intuition, and make the right decisions. This requires determination, sacrifice and courage, said the minister.

"Often the public does not see at first that the right decision has been made. After a while, it becomes clear that the decision was right and should have been taken," said Aseradens.

He called on everyone who has agreed to run in the local elections to work for change, which will not be easy. In the finance minister's opinion, there are two main priorities. The first issue is geopolitics, where it is necessary to understand how a small country can find its place in the collective security and economic system, and ensure security of its citizens.

The second issue is economic challenges. According to Aseradens, it is impossible to deny that there is a threat and that Latvia is preparing to respond to it. At the same time, economic growth must be achieved and the well-being of the population must be ensured.

Speaking about the economy, the Unity chairman also mentioned bureaucracy. If the idea is to reduce bureaucracy by a quarter, this is often interpreted as dismissing 25 percent of public servants, but that is not so. "It is not about that. We have created piles of documents and various restrictions. (...) To some extent, bureaucracy has become a master. We need to find a way for bureaucracy to start working for the people", said Aseradens.

As for regional policy, the finance minister said that there were also big challenges ahead. Looking at the regional development map, one can see that Riga and Pieriga, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, are on the average in line with the average standard of living in the European Union (EU).

"We need to develop further. Riga and Pieriga are in no way competing with Kurzeme, Zemgale or Latgale," said Aseradens. "Riga and Pieriga have to compete with Vilnius, Tallinn, Helsinki, Stockholm," he explained.

According to the finance minister, GDP per capita in Vidzeme and Zemgale is close to 50 percent of the EU average, while in Latgale GDP per capita barely reaches 35 percent. Everyone will have to work together to agree on a basis for economic growth to foster development of the regions, said Aseradens.