On 9 December 2020 in Riga, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andris Pelšs, together with the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Latvia, Keith Shannon, took part in the lighting of a Christmas tree given by Latvia as a gift to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom. Today in London, the Ambassador of Latvia to the UK, Ivita Burmistre, meets with the Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCDO, head of the British diplomatic service, Philip Barton, and presents him with an Advent wreath from Latvia, decorated with Latvian ornamental signs. British colleagues have expressed their appreciation for the gift from Latvia.
For the fourth consecutive year, Latvia is giving a Christmas tree as a gift to the UK Diplomatic Service. The tree is then put up at Lancaster House, the headquarters of the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) in London. This year, given the restrictions imposed for the COVID-19 pandemic, the Christmas tree was symbolically put up at the Embassy of the UK in Latvia and lighting of the tree took place with social distancing rules, and without the presence of guests and the press.
In meetings with representatives of the British diplomatic service in Riga and London, Latvian diplomats underlined that the message accompanying the gift remains the same: Latvia and the United Kingdom are and will be close friends and allies in bilateral cooperation and in various regional and global formats. We are like-minded countries linked by democratic values. Latvia highly appreciates and thanks our British Allies for their support for the nascent Latvian state and during the War of Independence, as well as for pursuing the policy of non-recognition of the Soviet occupation, thereby ensuring the continuity of Latvia’s statehood.
The significance of 2021 was underlined during the meetings: next year marks the Centenary of Latvia’s de jure international recognition and the centenary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Latvia and the United Kingdom. Today, Latvia and the United Kingdom are close allies in NATO, and the British government continues contributing significantly to Euro-Atlantic security through the presence of more than 700 troops in the Baltics.
Continuing the tradition of a Latvian tree being presented as a gift would not be possible without a contribution from our companies. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs offers sincere gratitude to private businesses that have supported the project for four years: SIA “Ezernieki” tree nursery, SIA “BYKO-LAT”, “Norvik Timber Industries”, “BSW” Ltd, and SIA “Latvijas koku eksports”.