Security ready for NATO summit

  • 2006-10-25
  • From wire reports

GREAT WALL OF RIGA: Officials have announced that security plans for the upcoming NATO summit are so far on schedule, with some 9,000 police set to patrol the event.

RIGA - Defense Minister Atis Slakteris has announced that Latvia is officially prepared to host the NATO Riga Summit Nov. 28-29, with approximately 9,000 police and servicemen scheduled to ensure security. "By and large, everything is proceeding on schedule and exactly as planned," Slakteris said on Oct. 19. Approximately 2,000 troops from other NATO members will make up Latvia's 9,000-strong security force, said Defense Ministry State Secretary Edgars Rinkevics, who also heads the NATO Riga Summit Organization Office.

Latvia's 7,000 officers are responsible for ensuring summit security, while the remaining 2,000 foreign servicemen will control sea and air space. Further details, Rinkevics said, cannot yet be disclosed.
"The servicemen invited from other countries will patrol Baltic sea and air space, however I cannot reveal the number of patrolling ships, helicopters and airplanes yet," he said.

The state secretary added that the summit's final costs won't be known until after the event takes place. He said that Latvia was not responsible for paying the foreign servicemen, although the government had agreed to cover their food and accommodation.
The summit's first guests will arrive in Riga on Nov. 27, followed by Alliance leaders on Nov. 28. A concert at the Latvian National Opera will be held that same day, with President Vaira Vike-Freiberga as the concert's patroness. An official banquet will follow.
The Riga summit, the 18th conference in NATO history, will officially begin on Nov. 29.
Slakteris stressed that hosting the NATO summit was a great honor for Latvia, as the small Baltic state had never welcomed so many high-ranking officials.

"It is one more success story for Latvia," Slakteris said.