Newspaper hosts officials in five-star gala dinner

RIGA - The Baltic Times remains committed to strong and independent journalism, its chairman Gene Zolotarev said to a group of ambassadors invited to a special evening event.
Some of Latvia’s top ambassadors and officials and leading businessmen attended a formal dinner at the Grand Palace Hotel in Riga on Jan. 14, hosted by the newspaper. Guests included U.K. Ambassador to Latvia Sarah Cowley and Chinese Ambassador to Latvia Yang Guoqiang.

Speaking to the guests at the beginning of the evening, Zolotarev, chairman of The Baltic Times, said, “An independent newspaper, committed to the principles of professional news coverage, is a foundation of any democratic society. The Baltic Times is fortunate to benefit from journalists who are passionate about what they do.”
“We’re interested in getting more young people excited about a career in journalism and caring about the Baltic countries – the place where they live and work.”

The newspaper, founded in 1992, recently launched a competition for aspiring young journalists. Youngsters have been challenged to write an opinion piece on a current political theme. The best articles will win prizes, with the top prize including an internship with the newspaper at its Riga office.

Later, Ms. Cowley talked about the importance of having an English language newspaper for the Baltics. “It’s important to have an English language newspaper covering the Baltics, especially for me as UK ambassador,” she said.
“I can only see the newspaper becoming more important in the future,” she added.

Other guests included:
H.E. Mr. Frank Arnauts - Ambassador of Belgium to Latvia
H.E. Mr. John Morrison - Ambassador of Canada to Latvia
H.E. Mr. Pavol Sepelak - Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Latvia
H.E. Mrs. Pirkko Mirjami Hamalainen - Ambassador of Finland to Latvia
Ms. Ksenia Kobiakov - Deputy of the Ambassador of Israel to Latvia
H.E. Mr. Aidan Kirwan - Ambassador of Ireland to Latvia
H.E. Mr. Ricardas Degutis - Ambassador of Lithuania to Latvia
H.E. Mr. Jan Grevstad - Ambassador of Norway to Latvia
H.E. Mr. Peter Hatiar - Ambassador of Slovakia to Latvia
H.E. Ms. Sarah Cowley - Ambassador of the U.K to Latvia
H.E. Mr. Yang Guoqiang - Ambassador of China to Latvia
H.E. Mr. Gary K.Y. Ko - Ambassador of Taiwan to Latvia
Tom Erdal - Chairman of the Norwegian Chamber of Commerce
Thomas Hellstrom - Chairman of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce
Valters Kronbergs - Chairman of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Latvia
Ebbing K. Osinga - Chairman of the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce
Mr. Kamol Fayziyev - Consul of the Embassy of Uzbekistan to Latvia
Mr. Grzegorz Szopinski, Deputy Ambassador of Poland to Latvia