The Political Directors of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Baltic States and Nordic countries and officials from the United States Department of State gathered in Washington, D.C. for their meeting in the format of E-PINE, the Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe, to mark the 20th anniversary of the partnership.
The meeting addressed transatlantic cooperation and security, support to Ukraine and international pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine, the attack on Israel by the Hamas terrorist group, relations with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, preparations for the summit of NATO Heads of State and Government in Washington, D.C., relations with countries in the Indo-Pacific region, and Europe’s energy security. Latvia was represented at the meeting by the Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andžejs Viļumsons.
Andžejs Viļumsons underlined that, in the current geopolitical situation, close transatlantic unity was of particular importance. Strong support to Ukraine should be maintained for as long it takes, as well as not going back on coordinated international efforts to stop Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. While discussing the current security situation in the world, the participants of the meeting strongly condemned the brutal attacks on Israel by the Hamas terrorist group.
During his visit, Andžejs Viļumsons also had bilateral meetings with officials from the United States National Security Council and the United States Congress for in-depth discussions on the security situation in the region. At the meeting with the officials of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Political Director Viļumsons pointed out that Latvia was open to expanding joint work with the agency in the field of development cooperation.
Background information
The E-PINE initiative was launched in 2003, with the purpose of enhancing and sustaining the United States’ cooperation with the Baltic and Nordic region., the political directors of the ministries of foreign affairs meet in this format twice a year. The main fields of E-PINE cooperation are security policy, relations with neighbouring countries and the development of economic relations.
