On 5 and 6 December 2023, the Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ilmārs Breidaks, took part in the United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial in Accra, Ghana.
This year’s event focused on the promotion of sustainable peace, protection of civilians, strategic communications, safety and security, and the mental health of peacekeepers. The Ministerial was attended by representatives from more than 85 countries and international organisations, and it was held on the African continent for the first time. The meeting aims at achieving political support and concrete commitments to strengthen the United Nations peacekeeping efforts addressing current and future challenges.
“Latvia advocates the need to adjust the United Nations peacekeeping in line with the international security situation and the development of new technologies,” Ilmārs Breidaks noted in his speech.
He referred to Latvia’s support for UN peacekeeping efforts while working on the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission in 2022 and making regular voluntary contributions to the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund. Since 2022, Latvia has been a member of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization in Jerusalem and, since 2023, of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, in which Latvia is planning to expand its participation.
The next United Nations Peacekeeping Ministerial has been slated to take place in Germany in 2025.
As part of his visit, Ilmārs Breidaks met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, and the Undersecretary of Capability Assessment and Development at the Department of National Defense of the Philippines, Angelito M. De Leon. In a conversation with the Ghanaian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ilmārs Breidaks expressed readiness to take forward the work on topics discussed during the visit by the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, in April 2023.
The officials agreed to continue working on the enhancement of the legal framework and promoting cooperation between companies in the ICT sector in order to promote economic relations between Latvia and Ghana. Ilmārs Breidaks expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel, while highlighting the risks of the overspill of terrorism into a wider West African region. In a meeting with a representative from the Philippines, the security environment in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region was discussed, including support to Ukraine and challenges in the South China Sea.