On 10 September 2020, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to the UN, OSCE and other International Organizations in Vienna, Katrīna Kaktiņa, presented her credentials to the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi.
During the ceremony, the cooperation between Latvia and the IAEA was discussed as well as Latvia's participation in the technical cooperation programme, which gives considerable input to the capacity building in the Latvian radiation safety and nuclear medicine sector. Katrīna Kaktiņa praised the timely and important support of the IAEA for the Latvian COVID-19 testing capacity by delivering two sets of rapid detection equipment, thus augmenting national testing capacity.
In the context of current international and regional issues, the monitoring of Iran’s nuclear programme by the IAEA and the situation in the DPRK were discussed. Katrīna Kaktiņa also stressed the necessity of an evaluation by international experts on whether the Astravyets nuclear power plant in Belarus is safe for commissioning, this being an important issue for Latvia as a neighbouring country.