From 10 to 13 January 2022, the heads of Latvia’s diplomatic missions abroad and Latvian Ambassadors residing in Riga will have their annual meeting to discuss the priorities and current tasks of the Foreign Service.
The meeting will be opened by Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš and Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs. The Ambassadors will meet with the President of Latvia, Egils Levits; Speaker of the Saeima (Latvian Parliament), Ināra Mūrniece; the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Saeima, Rihards Kols; the Chair of the Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee, Juris Rancāns; and the Chair of the National Security Committee, Māris Kučinskis.
The programme includes a discussion on the foreign and security policy with the Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, Minister of Defence, Artis Pabriks, and the NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, Baiba Braže.
Attention will also be focused on the policy of the European Union. The Ambassadors intend to exchange views on EU-related matters with the secretary General of the European Commission, Ilze Juhansone, and the Secretary General of the European Eternal Action Service, Stefano Sannino.
Sector-specific policy issues will be discussed with the Minister of Transport, Tālis Linkaits; the Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Toms Plešs; the President of the Bank of Latvia, Mārtiņš Kazāks; the Director of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, Kaspars Rožkalns; the Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Economics, Raimonds Lapiņš; the Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Līga Kļaviņa; and the member of the Board of AS Latvenergo, Guntars Baļčūns.
Other topics to be addressed include Latvia’s candidacy for the elections to the United Nations Security Council, and the Three Seas Initiative Summit and Business Forum scheduled to take place in Riga on 20 and 21 June 2022. The Ambassadors will also look at digital topics, the implementation of the diaspora policy, and current developments in the consular sector.
The meeting is held in compliance with current epidemiological safety regulations.
For the attention of the media
In line with epidemiological safety requirements, the number of participants and media attendance are being considerably reduced. Members of the media who wish to take individual interviews from any of the Latvian ambassadors are requested to apply at e-mail media@mfa.gov.lv.