On 30 October 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia held political consultations in Canberra, Australia. Katarina Plātere, Head of the Bilateral Relations Directorate at the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Chris Cannan, First Assistant Secretary Europe Division at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, discussed the development of bilateral relations between the countries and their cooperation in international formats. Particular attention was paid to Ukraine and support given to the country in its fight against Russia’s aggression. Katarina Plātere and Chris Cannan also exchanged views on current matters in the EU-Australia relations.
In their conversation, the officials underlined that Latvia and Australia had a similar perspective of challenges faced by Europe and the Indo-Pacific region, and they placed particular emphasis on the areas such as hybrid threats and the spread of disinformation. Katarina Plātere welcomed the continued participation of an Australian expert at the NATO Strategic Communication Centre of Excellence in Riga, which deepens a common understanding of threats in both the Baltic Sea and the Indo-Pacific regions.
During the visit, the Latvian delegation also met representatives from the Australian Department of Defence, the European Union Ambassador to Australia, Gabriele Visentin, and experts from think-tanks and researchers in international relations.
Previous political consultations of the Latvian and Australian foreign services took place in Riga in 2022.