On November 8, 2021, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs visited the Hungarian capital Budapest and met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary Péter Szijjártó, Hungarian Minister of Defense Tibor Benkő, and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Committee of the Hungarian Parliament Zsolt Németh. During the meeting, bilateral relations, cooperation in international organizations, security and defense policy, regional cooperation and infrastructure development, energy policy, as well as migration issues in the European Union (EU) were discussed.
During a working lunch with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, E. Rinkēvičs drew attention to the fact that 2021 is special, as both countries celebrate the centenary of diplomatic relations between Latvia and Hungary and the 30th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic relations. The Latvian Foreign Minister thanked Hungary for its response in providing Latvia with the necessary assistance for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
The issue of migration was discussed during the conversation, as well as the situation on the border between Belarus and the European Union. E. Rinkēvičs expressed the position that the unity of the EU is necessary in order to fight against the hybrid operation deliberately planned and implemented by the Belarusian regime. Further restrictive measures against Belarus must be applied immediately, thus Latvia supports the imposition of additional sanctions on natural and legal persons, who facilitate the process of instrumentalization of migrants. “We can all see that Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are currently facing a flow of migrants, which is being used as a political tool on the European Union's eastern border. In Latvia's view, sanctions have a direct impact on the current regime in Belarus. Latvia supports intensified dialogue with third countries in order to stop migrants from going to Belarus with hopes of reaching Europe. The involvement of international partners, including the UN and UN agencies, is equally important in order to reinforce the impact on Belarus,” said E. Rinkēvičs.
Regional cooperation projects were discussed during the meeting. E. Rinkēvičs expressed his conviction that the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) is of geopolitical and strategic importance for strengthening cohesion and transatlantic ties at the EU level. The Minister presented the goals and priorities of the 3SI Summit planned for June 2022 in Riga. “We want the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Riga to promote transatlantic as well as regional cooperation by stimulating investment in the region as a whole,” said E. Rinkēvičs.
The Ministers also discussed regional cooperation in the V4+NB8 and NB8+V4 formats, issues related to the integration of the Western Balkan countries into the EU, as well as EU energy security issues.
During the meeting with the Hungarian Minister of Defense Tibor Benkő, the Latvian Foreign Minister thanked Hungary for its contribution to patrolling the airspace of the Baltic States. The Minister expressed hope that Hungary would soon formally join the NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, thus contributing to the work of the center. The Foreign Minister expressed confidence that the development of NATO's Strategic Concept is one of the main tasks until the Madrid Summit. The meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Riga at the end of November this year will be the first ministerial discussion.
“Modernizing the force structure and increasing the readiness of NATO forces is essential to enhance NATO's collective defense and deterrence efforts, including in the Baltic region. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we continue to invest in our security in accordance with the guidelines adopted collectively by the allies. This year, Latvia's military expenditure is 2.3% of GDP,” emphasized E. Rinkēvičs.