EUMETSAT, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, said Latvia has become the first Baltic State to join the group. Latvia already is using some satellite data in its forecasts, but the amount of data available to the agency will increase dramatically with Latvia becoming a “Cooperating State” with EUMETSAT. Andris Leitass, who heads the Latvian Hydrometeorological Agency, commented, “This ‘Cooperating State’ agreement is very important for the Latvian Hydrometeorological Agency and my country. Satellite information is important for our development process.”