On 5 July 2021, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the Vice-President of the Federal Council, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation, Ignazio Cassis, who has arrived in Latvia on an official visit.
During the meeting, the Latvian Foreign Minister highlighted the close and long-standing cooperation between the two countries: 2021 marks the centenary since Switzerland recognised Latvia de jure, and the 30th anniversary of the restoration of their diplomatic relations.
While praising the active bilateral dialogue and regular political consultations, both delegations were in agreement on the need to strengthen economic cooperation. Potential for joint activities was identified in the field of high technologies, especially biomedicine, the artificial intelligence, research and development.
The Latvian Foreign Minister thanked Switzerland for projects implemented with Swiss support and funding under the Latvian-Swiss Cooperation Programme and he confirmed interest in a continued cooperation in the future.
During the meeting, the officials also discussed the latest international developments and the relations between the EU and Switzerland. Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined that Switzerland is an important partner to the EU not only bilaterally but also in global matters, and he expressed hope that a compromise will be found on the issue of the EU-Swiss Institutional Framework Agreement. The Ministers were of the one mind that ways should be found of moving ahead with negotiations between the EU and Switzerland and they underlined the importance of political dialogue.
The Latvian and Swiss Foreign Ministers agreed on expanding cooperation in digital diplomacy. The Swiss diplomats voiced interest in taking part in the processes of the Three Seas Initiative.
Edgars Rinkēvičs highly appreciated the good cooperation between Latvia and Switzerland in international organisations.
During the official visit, Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Ignazio Cassis, also had meetings with the President of Latvia, Egils Levits, and the Speaker of the Saeima (the Latvian Parliament), Ināra Mūrniece, as well as taking part in a flower laying ceremony at the Freedom Monument and visiting the Museum of Occupation and the National Library of Latvia.