On 10 June 2024, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, paid a working visit to Sweden and met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tobias Billström, First Deputy Speaker of the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag), Kenneth Gustaf Forslund, and representatives of the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Security of the Swedish Parliament. This is the first visit to the Nordic countries by the current Foreign Minister of Latvia.
The two Foreign Ministers discussed the current security situation, as well as opportunities to expand bilateral and regional cooperation, including in critical infrastructure protection. The talks also focused on further support for Ukraine, including sanctions against Russia and Belarus, as well as NATO, the European Union and other international issues. During the meeting, further cooperation on mitigating the risks of hybrid threats and disinformation was discussed.
Before the meeting, the two Foreign Ministers attended the traditional Swedish Monday rally at Norrmalmstorg Square in Stockholm, where they addressed the audience and thanked the organisers of the rally for their continued support for Ukraine. Gunnar Hökmark, one of the founders of the movement, gave the opening remarks. The Monday Movement started in 1990 to support the independence efforts of the peoples of the Baltic states. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, people have continued to gather in Norrmalmstorg Square in Stockholm.
Baiba Braže reminded the audience: “We have no right to forget the war or to get tired of it – Ukrainian soldiers fight every day for us, for our freedom – let us remember them when we are going through a hard time! We must be steadfast in showing solidarity with the Ukrainian people. My visit to Stockholm today marks close cooperation with Sweden, including on military, political and humanitarian support to Ukraine. I welcome the recent decisions of the Swedish Government to strengthen the level of military support to Ukraine. As in Sweden, in Latvia, the whole of society has become involved in supporting Ukraine.”
Minister Baiba Braže congratulated officials and the public on Sweden’s accession to NATO. Tobias Billström and other senior Swedish officials thanked Latvia for its unequivocal support for Sweden’s path towards NATO. Discussing current security challenges, both Ministers agreed that strengthening the security and stability of the region is an absolute priority for both countries. During the meeting, Tobias Billström reiterated Sweden’s readiness to join the Canadian-led Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) force in Latvia in early 2025. In turn, Baiba Braže said: “Together we are more secure and we can provide united and coordinated support to Ukraine. We share responsibility for our common future, and as neighbours, we see many advantages of successful future cooperation in both the areas of security and economy.”
The Foreign Ministers agreed that in the current geopolitical situation, it is critical to strengthen cooperation in the NB8 (Nordic-Baltic Eight) and other international formats, as any cooperation format should now be used strategically to strengthen bilateral cooperation, the security of the whole region, and to ensure joint support for Ukraine and its reconstruction.
Ahead of the NATO Summit in Washington, Ministers discussed priorities, including the agreement on a support package for Ukraine, which would provide NATO with significant military and financial support in the longer term. Both Ministers stressed the need to continue the Allied debate on NATO’s policy against Russian aggression in order to strategically and effectively limit its ability to rebuild its armed forces and to undermine Euro-Atlantic security in general. Within the context of NATO’s 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington, Baiba Braže pointed out that this could mark a historic turning point in the history of the Alliance – at the Summit, the absolute majority of NATO Allies will have contributed at least 2% of GDP to defence, and some Allies even much more. Latvia and the other Baltic states have already exceeded this target – Latvia’s defence contribution currently stands at 3.11% of GDP. Sweden’s contribution has also already exceeded 2% of GDP.
It should be mentioned that Sweden and Latvia are among the EU countries that have expressed strong support for Ukraine’s integration into the European Union, as well as a common position on opening negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova as soon as possible.
During her visit, the Foreign Minister, Baiba Braže, laid flowers at the grave of Voldemārs Salnais (1886–1948), former Minister for Foreign Affairs and ambassador of Latvia to Sweden, Denmark and Norway. After the occupation of Latvia and the incorporation of the USSR, he stayed in Stockholm and took part in the organisation of refugee transfers from Latvia to Sweden. Until his death in 1948, he continued to remind the Swedish public of the de jure existence of the Latvian state.
At the end of the visit, Baiba Braže attended a reception organised by the Embassy of Latvia for non-resident ambassadors of Latvia to Sweden, where she provided information about Latvia’s candidacy for the UN Security Council elections in 2025, and continued with discussions on the possibilities of cooperation in the future.
