On 8 February 2023, Vienna hosted political consultations between Latvia and Austria. Latvia was represented in the talks by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andris Pelšs, and the Austrian delegation was headed by the Secretary General of the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs of Austria, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal.
The consultations addressed current bilateral relations between Latvia and Austria, the security and defence policy agenda, support for Ukraine, EU sanctions against Russia, energy security, the activities of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as developments in the Western Balkans region and EU enlargement.
The partners in talks underlined the excellent bilateral relations, successful dialogue and cooperation in the field of security and defence, and the potential for expanding business contacts, especially the cooperation initiated on smart technologies.
Andris Pelšs called on Austria to consider reinstating full-scale operations of a resident embassy in Riga, which would send a strong signal in the current geopolitical situation and contribute substantially to dynamising the bilateral dialogue.
In a discussion on current international challenges, the officials were unanimous that assistance to Ukraine must not ease off. Special support must be given to a closely coordinated reconstruction of Ukraine.
The previous round of political consultations between the state secretaries of the Latvian and Austrian Ministries of Foreign Affairs was held in Riga in 2019.
Photo: BMEIA/Baurecht