RIGA, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Cabinet ministers of Latvia and Estonia convened here on Tuesday for the first joint meeting ever held by the governments of the two neighboring countries.

The joint meeting was organized to mark the centenary of the two countries' independence and with the aim to deepen ties and promote constructive cooperation in areas of mutual importance, Latvia's governmental spokesperson informed.

Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis, who opened the joint governmental sitting, praised the existing cooperation between Latvia and Estonia, but noted that a lot still had to be done to increase the accessibility of health care, education, and transport services in the two countries' border regions. He also noted the necessity for the Baltic countries to step up energy cooperation.

The intergovernmental meeting in Riga also dealt with matters concerning the European Union's multiannual budget. "When it comes to talks on the EU multiannual budget beyond 2020, we are in the same boat. We need to work together to achieve the desired result," Kucinskis said.

At the meeting, Latvian and Estonian ministers affirmed their plan to create a single regional gas market by 2020, which is expected to promote competition in regional gas trade as well as energy security.

The two countries also concluded an agreement on sharing data of the Latvian and Estonian national population registries.