On 17 July 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, and the Minister of Economy, Viktors Valainis, chaired the 20th meeting of the Foreign Economic Policy Coordination Council. Its focus was on trade and economic cooperation in the present geopolitical situation, with a particular focus on Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Central Asian countries, and China. The meeting also addressed the challenges currently faced by the business community.
At the meeting, the Foreign Minister called for a forward-looking trade and economic policy, cooperating as closely as possible with all the stakeholders involved, including work towards further extension of sanctions against Russia and Belarus, as well as preventing the circumvention of the existing sanctions.
Baiba Braže underlined: “The current situation is not straightforward – neither globally nor in our region: Latvia has two totalitarian regimes as its neighbours. Therefore, we must sever the economic ties with Russia and Belarus to the maximum – we must continue to decontaminate ourselves of Russian influence, including that on the Latvian economy, because economic security today is as important a cornerstone of national security as military security."
The participants discussed various challenges faced by Latvian businessmen in the current geopolitical situation. “At this point in time, it is critical to cooperate so as to implement a forward-looking and sustainable trade and economic policy of Latvia, including by entering new export markets, and establishing new partnerships. The Foreign Service will meet regularly with the non-governmental sector, including organisations representing businesses. From now on, the role of the Foreign Service will only be made more active in order to help pursue the economic interests of Latvia and to provide support to businesses using the tools at the Foreign Service’s disposal – including embassies in foreign countries, representations in international organisations, the extensive network of honorary consuls,” Baiba Braže said.
The meeting then examined development cooperation projects, as the involvement of Latvian companies in this process is essential, especially in the context of the reconstruction of Ukraine. Views were also exchanged on Latvia’s participation in Expo2025 Osaka.
On 17 June, the Foreign Economic Policy Coordination Council gathered for its 20th meeting. Its participants included the Minister of Agriculture, Armands Krauze, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Ģirts Dubkēvičs, the Economic Adviser to the President, Irēna Emīlia Švilpe, the Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister, Reinis Lasmanis, the Director of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, Raivis Bremšmits, the Director General of the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia, Kaspars Gorkšs, and the Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jānis Endziņš.
The Foreign Economic Policy Coordination Council, established by the Cabinet in 2012, is a collegial coordinating institution under the Foreign Minister’s chairmanship, which aims at ensuring concerted action by public authorities and other institutions in creating and implementing a successful external economic policy. The Council builds a systematic dialogue between the public and non-governmental sectors.
