From 18 to 29 January 2021, the heads of Latvia’s diplomatic missions abroad and Latvian Ambassadors residing in Rīga will have their annual meeting online to discuss the priorities and current tasks of the Foreign Service. According to tradition, the meeting was opened by Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs, a ministry press release said.
Diplomacy
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights is to organise a parliamentary hearing by videoconference on the subject of “the poisoning of Alexey Navalny” on Tuesday 19th January 2021, beginning at around 11:30 am Rīga Time.
A group of 150 European Parliament members has issued a statement condemning early moves in the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, to define the family in solely heterosexual terms.
On 13 January 2021, political consultations of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and China were held in a video-conferencing format co-chaired by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andris Pelšs, and the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Qin Gang, a press release from the Ministry said.
The government has approved Latvia's national position on the agreement between the European Union (EU) and former EU member state the United Kingdom on future relations, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said in a remote press conference December 28, LTV reports.
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs announced December 22 that on Wednesday the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will consult each other on a plan to repatriate citizens from the United Kingdom due to the worsening pandemic situation there.
Latvia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Andrejs Pildegovičs, has been appointed to act as co-chair of the United Nations Science, Technology and Innovation Forum in 2021, to be held on 4–5 May in New York, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed December 16..
On 4 December 2020, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in an interactive dialogue with the High Commissioner of the United Nations for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet Jeria, concerning her report on the human rights situation in Belarus.
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced November 20 that 26 more Belarusian citizens have been declared persona non grata and are consequently denied entry to Latvia.
Former Rīga mayor Nils Ušakovs, now a European Parliament (EP) member, has been made Full Member of EP Intergroup on LGBTI rights, the group announced on Facebook November 19.
On 13 November 2020, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the leader of the Belarusian opposition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and effective president-elect of the country, who was also taking part in the annual security and foreign policy forum the Rīga Conference 2020.
On November 6, politicians from Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia participate digitally in the 39th session of the Baltic Assembly and the 26th Baltic Council.
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs has put himself into self-isolation after it emerged that Slovenian Foreign Minister Anže Logar -- who was in Rīga earlier this week -- has tested positive for the coronavirus.
On 23 October 2020, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, and continuing with the public debate on Latvia’s candidacy for a seat on the United Nations Security Council, a presentation and a discussion will be held on a study by the Latvian Institute of International Affairs, titled “Latvia’s interests and opportunities in becoming a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council” (UNSC).
The foreign ministers of the Baltic states and Canada had a meeting in Vilnius on October 16.
Latvia signed on the dotted line October 16, committing itself to lease a ready-made pavilion at the postponed Dubai Expo.
On October 13, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in the meeting of the European Union General Affairs Council in Luxembourg, Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a release.
On Wednesday, October 14, the election of the Constitutional Court’s President was held at the Court’s sitting. The Justices unanimously elected the current Vice-president of the Constitutional Court Sanita Osipova to the position.
Latvia and Lithuania were responsible for the delivery of surveillance drones to Belarus even in the middle of a brutal assault on civil society by self-proclaimed president Alexander Lukashenko, according to a report in the online publication EU Observer.
On 30 September 2020, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, welcomed his Estonian counterpart, Urmas Reinsalu, who was in Latvia on an official visit.
French President Emmanuel Macron continued his two-day visit to Latvia September 30 with a busy day scheduled.
Belarus has made a response to the sanctions imposed on Belarus by Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, banning a number of Baltic state officials from entering the country, said Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz.
France, Latvia and Lithuania have released the text of a joint declaration on the importance of protecting democracy. It is reprduced below in full and is signed by French President Emmanuel Macron, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš -- not President Egils Levits, who welcomes Macron to Rīga later on Tuesday.
Based on the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia, as well as in coordination with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Estonia and Lithuania, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs on September 25 announced the imposition of an indefinite entry ban on 101 Belarusian officials.
Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President and Trade Commissioner of the European Commission, met with a person who was later tested positive on COVID-19, according to the politician's Twitter post September 23.
On 22 September 2020 in Riga, the Foreign Minister of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs and the Foreign Minister of Lithuania, Linas Linkevičius, presented diplomat and linguist, Alberts Sarkanis, with the annual Balts’ Award bestowed by the two countries for outstanding achievements in research and fostering the Balts’ heritage.
On September 21, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in a meeting of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council, according to a statement from Foreign Ministry.
Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the Belarusian president-elect Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Riga on 20 September 2020, according to a release from the Ministry.
On 18 September 2020, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in an urgent debate on the human rights situation in Belarus at the United Nations Human Rights Council, Foreign Ministry said in a news release.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed an order on Wednesday for the dismissal of the Belarusian ambassador to Latvia, Vasily Markovich (Маркович Василий Михайлович), Latvian Television reported September 16.