Latvia and Australia share goal of maintaining law-based international order - ambassador

RIGA - On September 18, Latvian Ambassador to Australia, Samija Serifa, submitted her credentials and extended greetings from the Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics to the Governor-General of Australia, Sam Mostyn, LETA learned from the Latvian Foreign Ministry.

The official ceremony took place in the Governor-General’s official residence in Canberra.

In a cordial and open conversation, Serifa pledged to strengthen the friendly relations, political and economic dialogue between the two countries. "Despite the geographical distance, Latvia and Australia are like-minded partners, linked by friendly relations, common values and the goal of maintaining a law-based international order," Ambassador Serifa said.

The Ambassador thanked Australia for its support to Ukraine, including involvement in the Coalition of Goodwill and the Drone Coalition, which opens up opportunities for cooperation with Latvia. Serifa also highlighted the prospects for cooperation in the United Nations (UN): "We appreciate Australia’s support to Latvia in the UN Security Council elections and look forward to positive further cooperation, especially in the areas of the Women, Peace and Security agenda, information integrity and climate change." The Ambassador also noted NATO’s cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific region, including Australia, and thanked Australia for its participation in the NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence in Riga.

Serifa underlined the importance and contribution of the Latvian community in Australia both in maintaining and restoring the statehood of Latvia and in strengthening relations with Australia. "Promoting cooperation with the Latvian diaspora will be one of the main priorities in my work," the Ambassador emphasized.

In her present posting, Ambassador Serifa succeeds Margers Krams, who represented Latvia’s interests in Australia starting October 2021.