The Special Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zanda Grauze, has officially presented to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Foreign Minister of Palestine, Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, a letter from the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs on the Representative’s appointment to her post. The letter was submitted in Ramallah on 12 February 2025.
Palestine hosts diplomatic and consular missions of 22 EU Member States, including the Lithuanian Representative Office in Ramallah. Five EU countries, including Latvia and Estonia, have their non-resident representatives.
The Special Representative of Latvia in Palestine, resident in Riga, is being appointed since 2014. The Representative’s duties include maintaining bilateral contacts between Latvia and the Palestinian Authority. Zanda Grauze has become the fourth Latvian Special Representative in Palestine. The post was held by Juris Pogrebņaks (2022–2024), Gints Apals (2018–2020) and Zanda Grauze (2014–2018).
During a conversation, the Special Representative of Latvia underlined that the current state of play in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is yet another proof of the need for a political solution. Latvia calls for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace where two states – Israel and Palestine – coexist peacefully within their secure and recognised borders.
Zanda Grauze highlighted the Intensive Programme in European Law and Economics run by Riga Graduate School of Law, which has also been attended by officials of the Palestinian public administration since 2017. She also made note cooperation between Bethlehem University and the Christian Academy of Latvia, ongoing under the Erasmus+ EU exchange programme since 2016. In the conversation, the two sides also mentioned a possible involvement of EU Member States in rehabilitation measures for Palestinian children, as follows from the accession of EU Member States to the UN five-point plan set out in the Call to Action for Palestinian Children in Gaza and the West Bank in September 2024.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Palestine briefed Zanda Grauze about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and gave an assessment of the latest proposals in the Middle East Peace Process and the plans to strengthen the Palestinian Authority.
Zanda Grauze also met with heads of EU Member State Representations in Palestine.
About the Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian National Authority was formed on 4 May 1994 as a result of Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. The Palestinian Authority exercises de jure control over the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. The Authority lost de facto control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, when it was taken over by the Hamas terrorist movement. As from 2012, the Palestinian Authority has the status of a permanent observer in the United Nations, while being a major cooperation partner to international community, including Israel.