Diplomacy
On 22 April 2024, Latvia''s newly-installed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, will take part in the meeting of the European Union (EU) Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg. This is the new Foreign Minister’s first work trip abroad.
Outgoing Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš wrapped up one of his final assignments April 4 at the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels, where NATO Allies discussed current security and defence priorities in preparation for the NATO summit to be held in Washington in July.
On March 25, Latvia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Krišjānis Kariņš, will be in Washington, D.C. after flying across the Atlantic on a working visit, during which he is to take part in a joint meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Baltic States with the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina is spending most of this week in the United States on a working visit from March 11 to 14, where she will participate in the 68th session of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women, and meet with UN Director-General António Guterres and high-ranking US officials.
As Russia's war in Ukraine continues, Latvia's task is to help not only materially, but also diplomatically by carrying Ukraine's messages internationally, said Katrīna Kaktiņa, Ambassador to the UN, OSCE, and other international organizations in Vienna, in an interview on Latvian Television's "Morning Panorama" program February 23.
On February 20, Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Krišjānis Kariņš, at the beginning of his working visit to India, took part in the Inaugural Session of the CII India Europe Business and Sustainability Conclave, titled “India and Europe: Partners in Growth and Sustainability”.
The Foreign Ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia on February 19 issued a joint statement condemning Russia's plans to hold presidential elections in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory. The ministers pointed out that Russia is "gravely violating Ukraine’s sovereignty, international law and the United Nations Charter" with its actions. The full statement is reproduced below.
The senior diplomat on duty at the Russian Embassy was summoned to the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs February 19 – his second short walk across the park from embassy to ministry in less than a week.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia issued a statement on February 2 calling for authorities to double check whether there could be Russia-supporting individuals in high positions of Latvian enterprises.