On 5 July 2023, the Second Forum of Latvian Professionals Working for International Organisations gathered in Riga Castle with a view to strengthening informal cooperation between professionals working in Latvia and in international organisations, as well as exchanging views on Latvia’s development and its foreign policy.
In her opening remarks for the forum, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Gunda Reire, said that “cooperation with Latvian professionals employed at international organisations contributes to the implementation of Latvia’s foreign policy priorities. First, it is Latvia’s international visibility, which is ensured through representation of both our diaspora and Latvia in various organisations and institutions. Second, it is the protection of international law and human rights. Latvia stands as a candidate for a seat on the UN Security Council in the 2025 election, and we are telling the world how important it is to maintain a rules-based international order. That is why Latvia strongly advocates the need to establish a special international tribunal for investigating into Russian crimes of aggression in Ukraine and offers unwavering support to Ukraine in the fight for a free world.”
The Latvian experts were addressed by the President of Latvia Egils Levits, the Director of the State Chancellery, Jānis Citskovskis, and the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ilze Brands-Kehris.
Having taken note of recommendations from the professionals expressed on earlier occasions, the organisers had chosen the format of round table discussions thereby providing more opportunities for the participants themselves to express their opinions and share ideas in communications with ministers, parliamentary secretaries, senior officials of line ministries, and the leadership of the State Chancellery. The Minister of Finance, Arvils Ašeradens, the Minister of Education and Science, Anda Čakša, the Minister of Climate and Energy, Raimonds Čudars, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Jānis Garisons, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Economics, Andris Čuda, and officials from the State Chancellery took part in the round table discussions with the Latvian professionals.
The foreign policy session was chaired by Gunda Reire, Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Secretary of State Andris Pelšs. In a discussion on the war in Ukraine, the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that Latvia continued to provide all types of support to Ukraine in the framework of development cooperation, as well as bilateral assistance with reconstruction and in the military sector. The Latvian Presidency of the Council of Europe is also making a contribution: a register of damage caused by Russia in Ukraine is being established. Work is ongoing in the international environment to raise awareness, in talks with countries in faraway regions, of Russia’s war in Ukraine and its consequences. The Foreign Affairs Round Table also addressed input by the Foreign Service to economy – the attraction of investments and export promotion. It was concluded that a more effective and smarter use should be made of development co-operation opportunities, including by utilising the European Union funding and streamlining the co-ordination of the process; in addition, public authorities should use more the opportunities for secondment and create a supportive environment for the entry of Latvian professionals into international institutions in both the EU and the UN.
The forum brought together more than 80 professionals of Latvian descent employed at more than 80 international organisations in 25 countries, including the United Nations, the OECD, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Council of the European Union.
The event was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the President’s Chancery, the State Chancellery, the World Federation of Free Latvians (PBLA) and in partnership with an association, Economic Cooperation and Investments for Latvia (#esiLV).
Networking among the diaspora professionals is invaluable in the efforts of nation branding; therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as early as in 2007, organised a conference on Latvia’s opportunities in international organisations. The First Forum of Latvian Professionals Working for International Organisations took place in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2022.
