Visiting the eastern border of Latvia on Tuesday, Kariņš got acquainted with the situation at the border, and the work of the State Border Guard in providing a high level of protection of Latvia's borders with Russia and Belarus.
The visit comes as Belarus dictator Aleksander Lukashenko is engaging in state-sponsored human trafficking in an effort to send migrants across the EU's external border.
The Prime Minister emphasized that Latvia's eastern border, which is also the European Union's external border with Russia and Belarus, is becoming increasingly important in view of both the Covid-19 pandemic and developments in neighboring countries, namely the critical situation on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border and attempts by illegal migrants to enter Lithuania and further into other European Union member states.
At the same time, Kariņš emphasized the need to continue working on strengthening the land border. The government is ready to provide the necessary support, taking into account the proposals of the Ministry of the Interior, the LETA newswire said.
Interior Minister Marija Golubeva (For Development), Chief of the State Border Guard, General Guntis Pujats, and Edmunds Belskis, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian State Radio and Television Center, accompanied the Prime Minister on the visit.
