On 29 March 2023 in Washington, DC, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the United States Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman, to exchange views on the bilateral relation between Latvia and the United States, including the economic relations of the two countries, especially in the field of information technologies and energy. The officials also discussed preparations for the NATO Summit in Vilnius this summer, current support for Ukraine, and security policy issues in the region.
During the meeting, Edgars Rinkēvičs praised the close bilateral political and security cooperation that had been developed between Latvia and the United States. The Minister thanked the current US President’s administration for promoting the development, manufacturing and distribution of safe 5G technologies, especially among the Allies. The Minister said that Latvia was prepared to supply 5G equipment, in high demand worldwide, that would be fully developed and manufactured in a NATO Member State, Latvia.
The officials then discussed the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius. The Minister thanked the US for its military presence in the Baltic States, and he confirmed that Latvia would continue to provide host country support and welcome the enhanced Allied forces. The Foreign Minister informed Deputy Secretary Sherman that there were plans to increase Latvia’s national defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2025, and to 3 per cent of GDP by 2027.
In the conversation, Edgars Rinkēvičs stated that the US military presence was highly important for a reliable NATO deterrence and protection in the Baltic region, and he called on the US to invest in Latvia.
The officials discussed support for Ukraine in the war against Russia. Latvia highly appreciates the important contribution and support of the current US administration to Ukraine’s military efforts. Edgars Rinkēvičs pledged Latvia’s commitment to continuing support for Ukraine bilaterally as far as possible. So far, Latvia has invested more than 1.14% (EUR 498 million) of its gross domestic product in military support.
During the meeting, the Latvian Foreign Minister expressed concern about Russia’s destabilising activities in Moldova, which is being targeted with hybrid attacks and disinformation campaigns.
Photo: Ron Przysucha