On 3 and 4 April 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Krišjānis Kariņš, will take part in the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels, where NATO Allies will discuss current security issues in preparation for the NATO summit in Washington.
The key theme of the meeting will be the strengthening of the Alliance’s deterrence and defence capabilities, including the implementation of new regional defence plans and increasing investment in defence. Progress towards a more equitable distribution of defence spending among NATO allies will be discussed. Latvia is one of the NATO member states that invests at least 2% of GDP in defence in accordance with the decision taken collectively by the Allies.
The Ministers will also discuss the threat posed by Russia to the security and interests of the Allies, as well as security challenges in the south of the Alliance. On the second day of the meeting, a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council is expected to exchange views on the strengthening of political and practical cooperation between NATO and Ukraine, as well as discussing ways to increase and adapt military support to Ukraine.
A separate working session is planned with the participation of four NATO’s partner countries from the Indo-Pacific region – the Foreign Ministers of Australia, South Korea, Japan, and New Zealand, as well as Joseph Borrell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Discussions are to be held on the possibilities for cooperation and preparations for the NATO summit in Washington, which is scheduled to have a separate session with the participation of leaders of the Indo-Pacific countries.
While in Brussels, the Latvian Foreign Minister intends to have a bilateral meeting with the Foreign Minister of Montenegro, Filip Ivanović, as well as taking part in a meeting of the three Baltic Foreign Ministers with the Federal Foreign Minister of Germany, Annalena Baerbock.