On 15 May 2020, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, will meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Urmas Reinsalu, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Linas Linkevičius, who are to arrive in Riga on a working visit. The Foreign Ministers of the Baltic States will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Lifting of Travel Restrictions between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for Land, Rail, Air and Maritime Transport and Cooperation thereof during the COVID-19 Crisis.
The agreement provides for removing restrictions on cross-border travel of persons between the Baltic States. Hereafter, travel restrictions will be lifted for the nationals of the Baltic States and persons legally residing in them, if they have not visited other countries during the previous 14 days, are not in self-isolation due to COVID-19 or contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, and have no symptoms of a respiratory infection when crossing state borders.
During the meeting, the Foreign Ministers will discuss cooperation between the Baltic States during the COVID-19 crisis, the recovery of regional economies and topics on the agenda of the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council.
At the conclusion of the visit, the Baltic States Foreign Ministers will jointly take part in the video-conference of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council.
Events for the media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- 13:00 Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (Press Conference Hall, 1st floor). Photo and video opportunity
- 13:05-13:30 A joint press conference of the Ministers (languages: Latvian–English). Photo and video opportunity
In view of epidemiological security measures, only a limited number of journalists will be admitted. Other representatives of the media will have the opportunity to take part remotely, via the ZOOM platform.
Members of the media accredited with the Latvian agencies and institutions are asked to register their participation not later than 9:00 on 15 May by contacting the Media Centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at e-mail: media@mfa.gov.lv and indicating their mode of participation.