On 18 and 19 July 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže will travel to Latgale. The Minister will visit the customs control and border control points in Terehova and Pāternieki at the eastern border of the EU, have a tour of the Dog Handling Centre of the Latvian State Border Guard College, as well as meeting with producers and exporters from Latgale.
Meeting with the leading officials of the State Border Guard and the Customs Administration. Sanctions against Russia and Belarus
As part of her visit, Foreign Minister Baiba Braže will be given a tour of the customs control and border control posts in Terehova and Pāternieki located at the external border of the EU. She will meet with the Chief of the State Border Guard (SBG), General Guntis Pujāts, and the Deputy Director General for customs at the State Revenue Service, Director of the Customs Administration, Raimonds Zukuls, as well as officials of the Daugavpils Administration and the Ludza Administration of the SBG.
At the meeting, the officials will discuss practical aspects of enforcement of the sanctions imposed, the necessary resources, control mechanisms, border queue management arrangements, and other issues.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the coordinating body in sanctions-related matters. Intensive work is under way to effectively implement the sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus, as well as to the strengthen restrictive measures even further.
EU border Management Programme in Central Asia: the SBG Dog Handling Centre trains instructors specialising in search for explosives, ammunition and weapons
The knowledge of Latvian experts is put to use to strengthen security in other regions. Within the framework of the EU Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA), the Dog Handling Centre of the Latvian State Border Guard College trains instructors from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to improve their theoretical knowledge and practical skills for day-to-day tasks of detecting explosives, ammunition and weapons.
The Minister will visit the Dog Handling Centre of the Latvian State border Guard College and will meet with dog handlers from the Central Asian Border Guard and Customs Services participating in training under Phase10 of BOMCA.
Meetings with producers and exporters in Latgale
In order to discuss the activities, opportunities and challenges of companies working in Latgale in the current geopolitical conditions, as well as a possible support by the Foreign Service to Latvia’s business community, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will meet with producing and exporting companies – SIA “Verems” RSEZ, AS “Latvijas Finieris”, SIA “LEAX Rezekne” RSEZ, SIA “NewFuels” RSEZ, SIA “IRBIS Technology” RSEZ, SIA “Magistr-Fiskevegn Group.mfg” RSEZ, SIA “OptoElektronika LV” RSEZ, AS “Rēzeknes dzirnavnieks” RSEZ, and SIA “Baltiks East”, as well as visiting the manufacturing facilities of SIA “Baltic Bullets”.
BOMCA
The Latvian State Border Guard is the lead partner in the management consortium for the BOMCA programme. The project aims to improve security, stability and sustainable growth in the region while supporting cross-border cooperation and improving living standards for people in the border areas of Central Asia.
- The 14th Sanctions Package against Russia
- The 8th Sanctions Package against Belarus
- Baiba Braže in a meeting with LCCI: cooperation between the Foreign Service and Latvian businesses is important in all foreign policy activities
- Baiba Braže in a meeting with the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia: economic security today is as important a cornerstone of national security as military security