From 22 to 26 January 2024, the heads of Latvia’s diplomatic missions abroad and the Latvian Ambassadors residing in Riga will gather for their annual meeting in Riga to discuss the priorities and current tasks of the Foreign Service.
The meeting will be opened by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Krišjānis Kariņš. The Ambassadors will meet with the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs; the Speaker of the Saeima, Daiga Mieriņa; the Prime Minister Evika Siliņa; and the Chair of the Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee, Rihards Kols; the Chair of the Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee, Raimonds Bergmanis; and the Chair of the National Security Committee, Ainārs Latkovskis.
The programme envisages discussions on foreign and security policy developments with the Minister of Defence, Andris Sprūds, and the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning, Angus Lapsley.
The Ambassadors will exchange views on EU-related matters with the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, and the Secretary General of the European Commission, Ilze Juhansone.
The Director of the UNSC Task Force, Andrejs Pildegovičs, will present the work completed and the work ahead, with Latvia running as a candidate in the 2025 election of the United Nations Security Council for the 2026-2027 term.
Sector-specific policy updates will be discussed with the Minister of Transport, Kaspars Briškens, and the Minister of Economics, Viktors Valainis.
Ambassadors will discuss issues of export promotion and investment attraction, disinformation and prevention thereof, implementation of the diaspora policy and current developments in the consular sector.