On 4 November 2024, in honour of the 106th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Latvia, a festive reception was organised at the Wien Museum, bringing together more than two hundred members of the diplomatic and consular corps, including from Latin America, the Caribbean region and Africa, representatives from international organisations, cooperation partners, as well as members of the Latvian diaspora in Austria, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, and Switzerland. Opening remarks for the event were delivered by the Ambassador of Latvia to Austria, Guna Japiņa, and the Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the OSCE and other international organisations in Vienna, Raimonds Oškalns.
“The true value of things can often be perceived only from a distance. Today, in this place where history meets the present, we see how right our decision has been – to establish our own state and defend it,” noted Ambassador Guna Japiņa.
Ambassador Raimonds Oškalns underlined: “There is no other alternative to working together on security and development matters. Therefore, multilateralism and international organisations are of importance. It is our responsibility to protect the United Nations Charter and strengthen international legal and political commitments.”
In his speech, Andrejs Pildegovičs, Ambassador-at-Large for Global and Multilateral Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highlighted what Latvia has accomplished during the period of over 30 years of its UN membership by actively participating in the UN agenda and sharing its experience and expertise. He also informed those present about Latvia’s lobbying campaign and the thematic priorities of its candidacy for a seat on the UN Security Council. “Latvia can offer its unique perspective on strengthening resilience of the multilateral system. It is important that we stand together in face of challenges! That is the motto of our campaign – together for peace and resilience,” the Ambassador said.
The festive event was also attended by the Latvian Minister of Transport, Kaspars Briškens, who is taking part in the Vienna Economic Forum and has meetings at the Austrian Economic Chambers and with businesses.
The celebrations in Vienna were rung in by a concert of a Latvian guitar virtuoso, Kaspars Zemītis, who performed musical pieces by both Latvian and the world composers.
The event was held as part of the public diplomacy programme in support of the lobby campaign of Latvia’s candidacy for the United Nations Security Council.
The campaign under the motto of “Together for peace and resilience” aims at ensuring successful election of Latvia to the United Nations Security Council for the 2026–2027 term in the 2025 election, at which Latvia is running for an elected member’s seat for the first time. UNSC membership will be a key instrument in pursuit and protection of Latvia’s foreign policy interests, as well as making it possible for Latvia to expand the scale of its international cooperation and thereby contributing to world peace and resilience.
Further information
As every year, during the month of the Latvian national celebrations and as part of the Nordic-Baltic Film Days, Nordiale, the Embassy will present the highlights of current Latvian cinema repertoire to Viennese people and visitors. This year, on 8 November, a film titled “Soviet Milk” by director Ināra Kolmane will be screened at the oldest cinema in Vienna, Urania. The Embassy has also arranged an opportunity for the viewers to meet Nora Ikstena, the author of the novel “Soviet Milk”.
Outside Vienna, the anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Latvia will be celebrated on 16 November by the Latvian Cultural Society of Graz, while the Swiss-Latvian Society will host an event jointly with the Honorary Consul of Latvia in Zurich on 17 November.
