On 5 March 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Krišjānis Kariņš, met with the Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, Jan Jambon, who has arrived in Latvia on a working visit. The Foreign Minister and the Minister-President discussed the bilateral cooperation between Latvia and Flanders with the focus on economic relations and the field of development cooperation as well as highlighting Latvia’s interest in the implementation of projects together with Flanders to build back Ukraine.
The Foreign Minister welcomed the cooperation initiated with Flanders in information and communication technologies and the long-standing close cooperation in the sector of ports, transport infrastructure and logistics, as well as culture and education. Krišjānis Kariņš called on Flemish businesses to set up their logistics and production companies in Latvian ports and special economic zones, as well as to cooperate in high value added sectors, such as exploring semiconductor and 5G solutions.
Krišjānis Kariņš shared with Jan Jambon Latvia’s experience in Ukraine with the implementation of reconstruction projects in the war-devastated territories and he invited Flemish partners to participate in projects initiated by Latvia in the fields of the protection of women’s rights and social reconstruction. The Foreign Minister underlined the need to continue supporting Ukraine and reiterated that only Ukraine’s victory could guarantee sustainable peace in Europe.
The visit to Latvia by the Minister-President of the Flemish Government takes place on 5 and 6 March. During his visit, Jan Jambon is also to meet with the Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, the Minister of Climate and Energy, Kaspars Melnis, and the Minister of Culture, Agnese Logina.
Jan Jambon has been serving as Minister-President of the Government of Flanders and also Flemish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Culture, ICT and Facility Management since 2019.
