The Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs welcomes the 13 May announcement by Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai on launching the third tranche of security responsibility transfer in the country. “I am certain that a solid foundation has been laid for the transition process to be successful and to proceed in a close interaction between Afghan authorities and the international community.
On 18-19 April, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs will take part in the Meeting of NATO Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers in Brussels, Belgium. The ministers from NATO member countries will meet to discuss the current issues and prepare for the Alliance Summit to be held on 20-21 May in Chicago.
Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs welcomes the decision taken today by the NATO North Atlantic Council to further authorise NATO Air Policing in the Baltic states with a continuous presence of fighters. “This is the main priority for Latvia at the upcoming NATO Summit in Chicago on 20-21 May, and the decision reached today will enable to officially announce at the Summit that the NATO Air Policing mission in the Baltic states is to be continued,” Minister Rinkēvičs indicates.
On 20 January at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs, Defence Minister Artis Pabriks and Transport Minister Aivis Ronis met with the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The ministers discussed with Secretary General the upcoming NATO Summit to be held this year in Chicago and expressed support for priorities put forward by Secretary General for this meeting of the Alliance’s leaders.
On 16 December, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andris Teikmanis met with NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero. During the meeting the officials discussed preparations for the NATO Summit in Chicago in May 2012, which is to place focus on NATO’s Enduring Partnership with Afghanistan, the development of a missile defence system, as well as partnerships policy and the enhancement of military capabilities.
On 12 December, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs met with the delegation of the Saeima to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly with the aim of discussing priorities and topical matters of importance to Latvia on the NATO PA next year’s agenda.
On 7-8 December, NATO Foreign ministers convened for their regular meeting in Brussels, Belgium. On 7 December, the ministers reviewed the operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo, the development of a NATO partnership policy, as well the course of setting up the NATO anti-missile defence system. In his address, Foreign Minister Rinkēvičs emphasised that, while considering the enagement of the international community in Afghanistan after 2014, it is vital to ensure the involvement of neighbouring regions, including the Central Asian countries.
On 8 December, during the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Brussels, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs met with the United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Minister Rinkēvičs expresses gratitude for the United States consistent support in all fields, notably, in strengthening the independence and security of Latvia. ”We are proud of the excellent relations with the USA and will continue to expand those, among other areas, also in the field of economic cooperation. Latvia is interested in the U.S. support towards the enhancement of energy security and source diversification,” the minister accentuated.
On 7-8 December, Foreign Minister Rinkēvičs will take part in NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Brussels. The ministers will talk about NATO operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo and also turn to partnership issues. Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs will accentuate the necessity of considering a broader involvement of the Central Asian countries in joint efforts to enable a sustainable Afghanistan.
On 28 October, the NATO North Atlantic Council took a decision to end the NATO operation in Libya, Unified Protector, on 31 October 2011. It is envisaged that in the meantime NATO will monitor the situation and retain the capacity of responding to threats to Libyan civilians, if needed. The decision on winding down the operation has been taken in consultation with the United Nations and the National Transitional Council of Libya.
On 29 September, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis met with NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Gen. Mieczysław Bieniek. During the meeting the parties discussed NATO’s Steadfast Pyramid 2011 and Steadfast Pinnacle 2011 exercises, currently held in Latvia, as part of which, senior staff and commanders of the Alliance increase their command and control capabilities during the planning, preparation and conduct of operations.
On 29-30 September, the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andris Teikmanis will participate in the French-Baltic Security Seminar held in Vilnius this year. Mr Teikmanis will speak about possibilities for cooperation with Russia and will meet with Evaldas Ignatavicius, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, in order to discuss current bilateral cooperation matters.
On 26 September, the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andris Teikmanis met with General Sir Richard Shirreff, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe who is on a visit in Latvia during a NATO exercise from 22 to 30 September. At the meeting, the Secretary of State expressed support to the NATO exercise currently taking place in Latvia.
On 19 September in New York Foreign Minister Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis spoke at the Symposium on International Counter-terrorism Co-operation organised by the UN Secretary General. „Terrorism does not recognise state borders; therefore, fighting terrorism is our global task. At the same time, human rights must be safeguarded,” indicated the Foreign Minister.
On 16-17 September, the Foreign Minister Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis takes part in the annual Riga Conference, the largest security policy and foreign policy forum in Northern Europe. Foreign Minister Kristovskis is to open a discussion dedicated to Afghanistan and the Central Asian region. Contributing to the panel are also Head of the EU Representation in Afghanistan Vygaudas Ušackas, the Ambassador of Afghanistan to Nordic countries Manizha Bakhtiari and Ambassador-at-Large at the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan Madina Jarbussynova.
On 4 August, Ambassador at the European Union Directorate Elita Kuzma met a delegation of the Swiss reserve officers group that has arrived in Latvia on an acquaintance visit. The Swiss visitors were interested in Latvia’s experience and lessons learned following the country’s accession to the European Union and NATO, as well as in regional cooperation.
We welcome the operation by relevant US services, as the result of which Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed. This step holds a great symbolic significance; it must be regarded as a major blow to Al-Qaeda and should, in the long term perspective, reduce the threat of international terrorism in the world
On 29 April, Foreign Minister Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis opened the NATO Summit Simulation game 2011, "Afghanistan 2014: NATO's further role in the stabilization of the region". Ambassador-at-Large, former ambassador of Latvia to NATO Jānis Eichmanis moderated the event and lived the part of NATO’s Secretary General.
On 29 April, the Foreign Ministry hosted the opening of an exhibition of drawings by pupils from the girls’ school of the town of Meymaneh in Faryab Province, Afghanistan, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ogre District Council
On 29 April, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host the NATO Summit Simulation game 2011 to be launched by Foreign Minister Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis. Ambassador- at-Large, former ambassador of Latvia to NATO Jānis Eichmanis, for his part, will live the part of NATO’s Secretary General
