On 20 and 21 March 2025, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andžejs Viļumsons, participated in the annual meeting of the State Secretaries of the Foreign Ministries of the Baltic states and Nordic countries (NB8), hosted by Copenhagen, Denmark.
The aim of the meeting was to discuss the pressing issues of the security and defence of the region and support to Ukraine in ensuring a just and lasting peace. The meeting also addressed the strengthening Europe’s security and defence, including an increase in defence funding and development of the military industry, thereby also reinforcing NATO and the transatlantic link. An exchange of views was also held on strengthening resilience against hybrid threats, including the protection of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea region and measures to combat the Russian “shadow fleet”.
State Secretary Andžejs Viļumsons highlighted Latvia’s consistent support for Ukraine, which reaches at least 0.25 % of GDP in military assistance, and he also informed his counterparts about plans to increase Latvia’s defence expenditure to 5 % of GDP.
In 2025, NB8 cooperation in the field of foreign affairs is coordinated by Denmark, which has set as its priorities the strengthening of Baltic and Nordic cooperation in the field of security and defence, the promotion of regional and global support to Ukraine, and the strengthening of the European military industry and defence capabilities.
The NB8 (Nordic–Baltic Eight) is a cooperation format comprising Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. Cooperation between the Baltic states and the Nordic countries has been very close since the beginning of the 1990s when they were active in the N5+B3 framework, which was transformed into the NB8 format in 2007.