Cooperation with countries News
Baiba Braže un Caspar Veldkamp spiež rokas pēc līguma parakstīšanas
Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands

On 15 January 2025, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, during her working visit to the Netherlands, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Caspar Veldkamp, and thanked for contribution by the Netherlands to security in the Baltic region, especially for the rotational participation of the Dutch troops in the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission from Ämari Air Base in Estonia, and for being part of the NATO eFP battle group in Lithuania. Baiba Braže also offered thanks for the work of a Dutch expert in NATO’s Strategic Communication Centre of Excellence (NATO StratCom CoE) in Riga.

The Ministers then discussed preparations for the next NATO Summit in the Hague on 24–26 June: it is essential for Latvia that the objectives in terms of capabilities and measures for constraining Russia set out in the NATO Defence Planning Process be approved in time for the summit.

Baiba Braže and Caspar Veldcamp signed an Agreement between the Republic of Latvia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands concerning Security Measures for the Protection of Classified Information. It will facilitate cooperation between the two countries in the field of security and defence. In negotiations on security agreements, Latvia is represented by the National Security Authority – the Constitution Protection Bureau.

The Ministers exchanged views on cooperation between the two countries bilaterally and in NATO, the EU and other formats, geopolitical and security policy challenges, further comprehensive support to Ukraine, Russia’s accountability for its war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as the priorities of the new European Commission, including migration and combating instrumentalisation of migration under the conditions of hybrid warfare at the EU border, as well as work on the EU’s long-term budget (2028–2034).  

“We have a united position that NATO member states must continue providing military support to Ukraine and make every effort to constrain Russia. We are unanimous that Russia must be held accountable for its crime of aggression and we must move rapidly ahead with the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine under the auspices of the Council of Europe. Likewise, it is in our shared interests to set more robust and broader sanctions on Russia, including by denying access to Western technologies, so as to reduce Russia’s revenues as much as possible and erode its military capabilities that enable it to continue its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. EU Member States must also decrease their economic dependencies on Russia, exert a stricter control of exported goods in their countries of origin and declaration, and signal to business communities that business with Russia is not sustainable in a long-term,” Foreign Minister Baiba Braže underlined.

Baiba Braže took part in an international conference organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, EU sanctions compliance: best practices towards effectiveness and innovation, on an effective enforcement of the European Union sanctions against Russia and Belarus. In her speech, the Minister noted that close cooperation and sharing of experience between competent authorities is important for an effective application of sanctions, and she underscored Latvia’s experience with the enforcement of sanctions in view of Latvian authorities being the ones that are shouldering the burden of sanctions control at the EU and NATO eastern border: 80% of freight crossing the border into Russia and Belarus come from other EU countries. In the second part of the conference, experts from the Latvian Financial Intelligence Unit and the State Revenues Service’s Customs Administration gave presentations on the application of sanctions and control of goods at the external border of the EU.

Baiba Braže took part in a high-level discussion with the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Elina Valtonen. The event was also attended by the EU Special Envoy for Sanctions, David O’Sullivan, and the Ukrainian President’s Special Adviser on sanctions, Vladyslav Vlasiuk.

At the Latvian Embassy, Baiba Braže met with members of the Latvian diaspora working or studying in the Netherlands.

During her visit, the Foreign Minister gave interviews to the BNR Nieuwsradio in The Netherlands, the country’s largest paper De Volkskrant, as well as to TVP World and Politico.

Further information

15.01.2025. Ārlietu ministre Baiba Braže darba vizītē apmeklē Nīderlandi