At an inter-institutional meeting on long-term support and security commitments towards Ukraine, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, informed the participants about the Foreign Ministry’s work and thanked other ministries for their efforts to implement the agreement concluded this past 11 April year between the Presidents of the Republic of Latvia and Ukraine.
Baiba Braže briefed those present about the results of Summit on Peace in Ukraine and preparations underway to organise the next peace summit. The issue was on the agenda of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, 22 July: the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, also participated remotely in the discussion on the Russian aggression against Ukraine, providing an outline of both the current situation on the ground and the outcomes of the first Ukraine Peace Summit, as well as charting further steps to be taken after the summit.
The Foreign Minister Baiba Braže: “Recent events – the first Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland and the NATO summit in the US – clearly marked the commitment of partner countries to continue strong support to Ukraine. At the Washington Summit, the countries of the Drone Coalition signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing concrete and practical principles of future cooperation. Meanwhile, during the NATO Summit, countries that signed on to the G7 declaration last year and have entered into bilateral security agreements joined a Compact prepared by the US, which will ensure the coordination and effectiveness of partner countries in honouring their commitments and demonstrating unity in support of Ukraine.”
In a discussion on the work accomplished so far and future plans, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided information on Latvia’s continued support for the reconstruction of Chernihiv region – implementing social infrastructure projects and projects in the field of European integration. The Minister also mentioned development cooperation projects supported by Latvia in the fields of medical care (rehabilitation and microsurgery), agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprise development, and Eurointegration, among others. Baiba Braže and representatives from line ministries exchanged views on the possibilities for involvement of Latvian businesses and researchers in various projects implemented in support of Ukraine.
The ministries shared information about their, and a wider sector-specific support to Ukraine so far in the context of security commitments, as well as their assistance to Ukraine in the EU integration process. The Foreign Minister briefed them about the High-level Group of Experts to support Ukraine’s EU integration, set up in the Nordic and Baltic Format (NB8), where Latvia is represented by Andris Piebalgs: his visit to Ukraine is taking place this week.
The matters of civilian mine clearance, which are critical for Ukraine, were also discussed, including in the Chernihiv region supported by Ukraine. Given that Latvia does not have a responsible authority in this field, further discussions will be necessary between individual ministries on the coordination of this issue.
Representatives from all line ministries attended the inter-institutional meeting on long-term support and security commitments towards Ukraine on Wednesday, 24 July.
