On 30–31 May 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, will attend the informal meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Prague, Czech Republic. Discussions will focus on topics to be raised at the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in Washington, D.C., between 9 and 11 July.
At their meeting in Prague in the run-up to NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington, D.C., the foreign ministers will discuss deterrence and defence issues, including an increase in contributions by NATO members to defence of up to at least 2% of their GDP to ensure an equal and equitable Allied burden-sharing. Latvia and the other Baltic States have already exceeded this target – currently Latvia’s contribution to defence is above 3%.
Support for Ukraine is needed for both immediate and long-term defence needs of the country.
The ministers will also discuss the deepening of cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific region, (Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea) focusing on the areas of cybersecurity, hybrid threats and technology.
Background information
On 23 May 2024, Foreign Minister Baiba Braže met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels and discussed the priorities for the upcoming NATO Summit to be held in Washington in July, the development of NATO's deterrence and defence capabilities, comprehensive support for Ukraine, and the need to develop a strategy to rein in Russia.
Support for Ukraine will also be on the agenda of the B9 (Bucharest Nine) meeting in Riga on 11 June. On 15–16 June, Lucerne in Switzerland will host the Global Peace Summit.
