Both parties also appreciated successful political cooperation between the two countries, including top-level exchange of visits. Raimonds Vējonis also noted the good cooperation in the area of culture, education, and innovation that have developed in recent years, and he mentioned the upcoming concert of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra in Jurmala as an example. Congratulating Ms. Lironne Bar-Sadeh on assuming the new office, he was confident that during the cadence of the new Ambassador work in these key areas would be continued and that the cooperation would be expanded. The Ambassador thanked for current support of Latvia to Israel in the formats of multilateral cooperation and expressed readiness for further cooperation.
During the conversation, the Jewish community in Latvia was also highlighted, whose origins in Latvia dated back more than 450 years and which was an active and important constituent of the Latvian society. The President of Latvia mentioned his recent visit to the Riga Ghetto and the Latvian Holocaust Museum and he stressed the need to disseminate the dark pages of the Jewish history explicitly and vividly, thus promoting tolerance in the society in general. He also pointed to the fact that representatives of the Jewish community would join the Minorities Consulting Council under the wing of the Chancery of the President of Latvia as before. The new Ambassador confirmed that the Jewish community felt belonging to Latvia, by emphasizing gratitude for Latvian support while turning Latvia into a common home to many nationalities.
During the meeting, the new Ambassador Lironne Bar-Sadeh delivered an invitation of the President of the State of Israel to President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis to pay a visit to Israel.
For reference:
Ambassador Lironne Bar-Sadeh was born in 1959 in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) she obtained a master's degree in Hebrew literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1985. She has led the International Organisations Department of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2012. Previously she has fulfilled the duties of Deputy Head of the Mission at the Embassy of Israel in Italy and Jordan; she has worked in the Israeli Mission to the EU and NATO in Brussels as well.