November 25 sees the publication of a new book marking 30 years of renewed diplomatic relations between Latvia and Germany. Published by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Representation in Latvia with the cooperation of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Riga, it carries the straightforward title: “2021. Thirty years since the renewal of Latvia's and Germany's diplomatic relations”.
Diplomacy
On 12 November 2021 in New York, Latvia's Mārtiņš Paparinskis was elected to the International Law Commission (ILC) for the term of 2023-2027.
Former Prosecutor General and director of the Constitution Protection Bureau Jānis Maizītis has died November 11, President Egils Levits said on Twitter.
Latvian Member of the European Parliament Sandra Kalniete told Latvian Radio November 11 that if Poland is granted EU funding to strengthen the border, it will also be granted to Latvia.
A planned meeting in Rīga of NATO Foreign Ministers will go ahead at the end of this month despite the fact that Latvia currently has one of the highest Covid-19 infection rates in the world.
On 18 October 2021, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, at which EU Foreign Ministers discussed the state of affairs in the Gulf countries, the Eastern Partnership, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Nicaragua.
From 11 October 2021, the Embassy of Latvia in Australia will be providing the full range of in-person consular services, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has announced.
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced October 5 it will be giving co-financing grants to four projects under the competition “Support for Development Cooperation and Development (Global) Education Projects Funded by the European Commission and Other International Aid Donors in the Recipient Countries Defined by the Republic of Latvia and in the Republic of Latvia”.
Latvian diplomat Aina Nagobads-Ābols has passed away at the age of 101, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said September 29.
It's just a few weeks until the annual Rīga Conference geopolitical talking shop takes place and organizers are reminding interested parties of the fact.
The Foreign Ministers of the Baltic states and Poland met in Rīga September 13, using the occasion to express solidarity in the face of hybrid threats posed by Russia and Belarus.
Monday, September 13 sees the Ministers of Defense and Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Lithuania and Poland visiting Rīga together, for meetings hosted by their Latvian counterparts.
On 13 September 2021, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Ministers of Defense of the Baltic States and Poland will gather for a joint meeting in Rīga to discuss current security policy matters and regional challenges, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced.
On 6 September 2021, in an official ceremony in Riga Castle, the President of Latvia, Egils Levits, presented credentials to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to the Commonwealth of Australia, Marģers Krams.
On 2 September 2021, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zanda Kalniņa Lukaševica, took part in a meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, which featured an exchange of views on the situation at the EU’s external border with Belarus.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has issued an indication for the Latvian and Polish authorities regarding the treatment of migrants on the Belarusian border. Latvian authorities responded August 26 by saying that Latvia is already acting in line with the indications.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) indicated an interim measure in the cases of two illegal migrant groups against Poland and Latvia concerning recent events at the borders of Poland and Latvia with Belarus, LETA reported August 25.
Two more citizens of Afghanistan and their families who had cooperated with the European Union's mission have been evacuated from the country and transported to Latvia, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs said on Twitter August 25.
On Sunday evening, two Afghan citizens who had cooperated with the European Union's mission in Kabul, as well as their families, arrived in Latvia, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs told Latvian Television August 24.
On 24 August 2021, to mark the 30th anniversary of the restoration of independence of the Republic of Latvia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host an international conference titled “A Dream Fulfilled: Freedom and Independence”.
Latvia will help eight Afghan citizens and their families to evacuate from the country, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs (New Unity) said on Twitter August 19.
On 9 August 2021 in Vilnius, the Ambassador of Latvia to Belarus, Einars Semanis, met with the leader of the Belarusian democratic movement, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement.
August 9, 2021, marks one year since the fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus, followed by ongoing protests by the Belarusian society. Latvian Foreign Ministry has expressed support for the people of Belarus in the release reproduced verbatim below.
The Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the parliaments of Latvia, Estonia Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States have underlined in a joint statement that the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will undermine the European gas market, endanger security, and threaten the already precarious sovereignty of Ukraine.
The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced which applications which were submitted for the grant competition entitled “Support for Development Cooperation Projects in designated recipient countries” will receive funding.
On 14 July 2021 in New York, a joint communication was signed on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, further narrowing the list of countries with which Latvia does not enjoy diplomatic relations.
An English edition has just been published of a book with the less-than-catchy but nevertheless interesting title: "A century of Latvian diplomacy: The first hundred years of Latvia's diplomacy and its foreign service as reflected in essays by diplomats".
On 12 July 2021 in Brussels, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council at which EU Foreign Ministers discussed the geopolitical aspects of new technologies and the EU 'Strategic Compass' among other things.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Toshimitsu Motegi, was in Latvia on Friday, July 2, marking one hundred years since Japan recognised Latvia de jure.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Toshimitsu Motegi, will visit Latvia on Friday, July 2, marking one hundred years since Japan recognised Latvia de jure.