On 24 April, President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs chaired a meeting of the National Security Council (Council) at the Riga Castle. The Council endorsed the establishment of the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence. In the meeting also discussed the development of the defence industry in Latvia and the leadership of the drone coalition in support of Ukraine.
The Council agreed to support the establishment of the Latvian National Centre for Artificial Intelligence (the Centre) in cooperation with the University of Latvia, Riga Technical University and Riga Stradiņš University. The Centre's objective is to create a competence centre for the utilization of artificial intelligence in the context of national security and the growth of the knowledge economy.
The Minister of Defence and the Minister of Economy reported on the measures being taken to support the development of the defence industry and technology in Latvia. These included projects to attract European Union support and to integrate into European military industry supply chains. Council members emphasized the importance of this work for the security of supply and the development of a balanced economy. The Council was briefed on the measures taken to implement the Defence Industry Law, which was announced this month and called for a constructive dialogue with companies to establish a robust defence industry base that would serve to protect Latvia and its allies.
The Council received a report from the Minister for Defence on the results of the drone coalition in support of Ukraine. The participants of the meeting emphasized the importance of immediate support to Ukraine, the adoption of the Ukrainian experience and the appropriate increase in Latvia's drone production capacity.
Additionally, the Council heard reports from national security authorities on the current situation in the country.