Latvia supports increased U.S. presence in Poland to help strengthen regional security

RIGA - During his working visit in Warsaw on Tuesday, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Jacek Czaputowicz, and the Secretary of State for European Affairs at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Konrad Szymanski.

The ministers discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries, regional cooperation, cooperation in international organisations, the situation in the region, as well as sharing views on security policy and EU-related topics of current importance, LETA was informed by the Foreign Ministry.

Rinkevics congratulated Poland on the upcoming Constitution Day to be celebrated on May 3 and the 15th anniversary of EU membership of Latvia and Poland. “Latvia and Poland are close regional partners and strategic partners in the field of security. An active political dialogue and cooperation on security, economy and culture are ongoing,” noted Rinkevics at the beginning of the meeting.

In a discussion on security policy matters, Minister Rinkevics asserted the necessity to ensure that the Allies continue working in a targeted manner on the implementation of decisions taken at NATO’s Warsaw and Brussels summits. The Minister expressed Latvia’s support for the strengthening of U.S. presence in Poland thereby enhancing the collective security of the region and NATO alike.

The Minister confirmed that Latvia was prepared to reinforce cooperation in international formats on the matters of hybrid threat, since, in addition to national measures, cooperation between the EU and NATO that includes information sharing, coordinated exercises and other activities was also highly important.

In the context of Poland being one of the most significant foreign trade partners to Latvia and both countries pursuing stable economic relations, the parties also discussed economic relations between the two countries. “We see the opportunity to expand business cooperation, especially in the information technologies sector, which is one of the fastest-growing sectors in Latvia. We are happy about the upward trend in contacts with Poland in the tourism sector,” the Foreign Minister underlined.

The officials also touched upon the implementation of regional energy infrastructure projects concerning synchronization of the Baltic States power networks with the European network and the establishment of infrastructure for a regional gas market. The parties agreed that it was vital to ensure funding for carrying out projects under the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework.

As concerns the implementation of the Rail Baltica project, Rinkevics said he believed that all the stakeholders had to continue working together to carry out the project in close coordination with EU institutions.

Rinkevics also invited his Polish counterpart to visit the concluding event for the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States to be held in Latvia on June 3.

During the visit, the minister also gave interviews to the Polish media.