On 24 September 2022, in New York, during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei Darussalam, Erywan Pehin Yusof, for a discussion on cooperation between the two states in international organisations.
During the meeting, Edgars Rinkēvičs noted that Latvia was interested in the strengthening of political dialogue and promoting exchange of bilateral visits with Brunei.
The Minister drew attention to avenues for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific offered by the upcoming summit of the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Brussels this December. Latvia is prepared to make use of the event to seek bilateral points of intersection.
The officials exchanged positions on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Edgars Rinkēvičs stated a position that Russia was an aggressor state that had launched an unprovoked war against its neighbouring state, Ukraine.
The Latvian Foreign Minister pointed out that in 2025, for the first time, Latvia would stand as a candidate in elections to the United Nations Security Council for the term of 2026–2027.
Minister Rinkēvičs invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei to visit Latvia.
Background information
Latvia established diplomatic relations with Brunei on 14 July 2000. The Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs took part in the EU-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Bandarseribegavana, Brunei on 26 April 2012.