Promoting progress through teamwork

After five years as Ambassador to the United States, Andrejs Pildegovics is returning to Latvia to work as the political director at the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, taking over the post from the new Latvian Ambassador to the United States, Andris Razans. The last five years have seen great changes for the U.S. and Latvia, from the economic crisis to participation in the war in Afghanistan through NATO. Ambassador Pildegovics recaps his term in office and speaks of his hopes for the future.

What has been your most significant accomplishment during your 5 year term in the U.S.?
I don’t consider any accomplishments as personal achievements, as all of them are a result of collective effort. But the five year relationship between the U.S. and Latvia has been extremely dynamic. The biggest event, in my view, was eliminating the Baltic visa requirements. I consider myself a Cold War child. I remember the dramatic separation of our countries from the rest of the world, and how hard the flow of information was to receive. All this was so physically present with the Iron Curtain. So coming from that, the visa-free regime was unprecedented. It is the first time in history that this happened and it is a huge step. Many thousands of Latvians come here now every year. I think this positive equality affects bilateral relations and acts as a stimulus for education and business partnerships.  
Another historical milestone was the election of President Obama and I was fortunate to observe this powerful message. Our relations have developed significantly in terms of security, with the NATO summit in Chicago, collective security, and the extension of Baltic airspace policing. This was an important decision and part of the contingency plans following the events in Georgia in 2008 and the Obama administration was very understanding. Our partnership furthered in Afghanistan as well. Despite economic hardships, we still contributed 200 troops to the effort and remain a North distribution supply line for the effort. Unprecedented logistical responsibilities have been given to us and we are proud to be a trusted ally. We hope that, as the war in Afghanistan winds down, this trade route will remain open. From this we have gained valuable experience on border/customs issues and we are ready to share our experiences with all parties.

How would you describe recent U.S.-Latvia relations? Any changes?
I am definitely pleased with developments between our two countries in education and science. In the two years since the U.S. Baltic Freedom Fund was established, almost 100 have participated. We have also expanded Fulbright programs bilaterally. To me, bilateral relations are the most important. Bilateral relations are strong when nations communicate. On an emotional level, I was happy to have cultural exchanges. The potential there is huge. Communication exchanges are going back and forth in both directions. I joke that our musical talent is our secret weapon, but the 2012 LV-US song and dance festival was impressive. I was touched in Milwaukee by how everyone came together and preserved the culture in such large numbers. The visit of the Latvian Boy’s Choir in 2009 was big at the White House, and it was no mistake that, four weeks after, the Latvian president was received at the White House.
We are preparing for the 2014 World Choir Games in Riga, which was hosted this year in Cincinnati. This will bring about 20,000 singers to Riga, which will also be the European Capital of Culture at the same time.
I have always been a champion for dual-citizenship and hope the amendments to the law will be approved by parliament soon. My confidence is based on a number of observations. First, given the demographic situation, we simply cannot afford to lose Latvians, regardless of residence. I think that we have to give opportunity to all Latvians of Latvian background to have this legal connection to their homeland of ancestors to the modern Latvian Republic, regardless of place of residence. I think this is really important. And we have to study the experience of the Poles, Italians and Israelis and other nations and we should not be afraid to copy some of their positive experiences.
We are grateful to the American-Latvians who have tirelessly kept the flame of freedom alive for many, many decades. They are also helpful as joint efforts on NATO accession as well as in the development of the visa-free regime and business opportunities. We have expanded honorary consulates to more communities as well. We have more than a dozen now, including remote places like Alaska which will be functional by the end of the year. The Latvian-American community has been a large part of this network. Diplomacy is not limited to diplomats, but based on personal contact on the ties between media, NGOs, universities, business companies and we diplomats have to be humbled not to overestimate self importance. But we have to be very energetic to facilitate these types of communication.
Economic cooperation has increased in the last two years. Bilateral trade in the Baltic region is now where the growth is. The economies of all three nations are growing as engines of economic growth, which is good for international business. I am definitely ending my time here on a high note.


What are your goals for your return to Latvia?
I am going to be the political director with the Latvian Foreign Service. I’m excited. I’ll be able to keep an eye on LV-U.S. relations and, on a broader scale, cover the whole world. In two years Latvia will assume the EU presidency; I look forward in this honorable position to craft policies on the EU level.

Is there anything you will miss about your time in the U.S.?
I will for sure miss the friendships the most. I have been fortunate to have visited nearly all the Latvian-American communities here in the U.S., including Chicago, Boston, Seattle, California and Washington DC. I have had exceptional experiences at many universities around the U.S. as well. The family has enjoyed their time here and the children have grown up here. It has been the time of our lives. We had the opportunity to travel as well and enjoyed many national parks, especially Yellowstone, which we visited before going home. We have become addicts of the national parks here and have visited about a dozen of them.

What work still needs to be done for Latvia in terms of coming out strong, out of the financial crisis?
I think the government is aware of priorities and what has to be done in various fields, including finance issues. I believe our government and society has learned a great deal from the financial crisis and we have come out strong in terms of developing in the areas of education, taxation, science and in the field of energy as well. The next steps are to create reasonably high growth while making these developments sustainable. After accession to NATO and the EU, we became victims of our own success. And I think it is important not to repeat those mistakes. Groundwork has also been laid for foreign policy in the diversification of new trade partners in our economy and to ensure recovery. This is definitely what we’re going to work on when I am back in Latvia.

What do you see as Latvia’s role in NATO in the years to come?
NATO definitely remains a cornerstone of our security. We definitely see our security policy deeply anchored within NATO. From our historical experience, we don’t see any other alternative. We think that this collective alliance is instrumental for EU countries as well as Canada and the U.S. The world is not a safe place and we can see that there are areas of tension and conflict. No one will be able to deal with these problems on their own. In our case for sure, we are ready share our responsibilities. But we have to do it together in the alliance.
I see a bright future for Latvia in NATO. I see it as open and dynamic. We are at the crossroads of trade routes and are part of this dynamic Northern Baltic region of trade. We are an interesting partner of the EU as well as neighbor to the vast region of Eurasia. We have ample evidence that our supply route to Afghanistan is successful and we have to use this advantage to adapt to the changing scene. This shows that Latvia can be a player on the world stage for trade, ideas, education, and finance. And I think that we have use of those advantages in a smart way and adapt to the changing environment. But I think preconditions for successful adaptation of those opportunities goes through anchoring in the EU and NATO. Therefore, despite current difficulties, we see the adoption of the euro as another affirmation of our belonging to the core of Europe. We are ready to share our sovereignty as well as quite a bit of our independence.

The precondition for adaption also goes through anchoring EU/NATO relations by adopting the euro, which we have worked so hard to do. By pooling our resources a better transatlantic bridge and cooperation can be developed.

What is your vision of the future for Latvia?
Growth is a big priority. We have come through, but restoring trust will be a priority as well. The next goal is to achieve sustainable development. After this, of course, is the goal of joining the eurozone, despite troubles. Joining OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) is also a goal and would facilitate economic interaction.  

What is your advice for the new Ambassador to the U.S., Andris Razans?
I wish him the best; to set high goals and to engage as broadly as possible, outside DC as well. The most interesting meetings take place outside of Washington. My praise also goes to former President Vaira Vike-Freiberga, as she was the architect for LV-U.S. relations and she showed by example the importance of nurturing talks and frank discussions. My successor has also worked with her and shares these goals. Our alliance is strong and adaptable to changes, and work must be done to keep it vibrant. The stars are aligned well.