On 11 June, President Edgars Rinkēvičs met with the President of the Republic of Finland, Alexander Stubb, at Riga Castle. The meeting took place on the margins of the Summit of NATO's Eastern Flank countries, otherwise known as the Bucharest Nine (B9) Summit, held in Riga.
During the meeting, the President of Latvia confirmed that Latvia and Finland have excellent bilateral relations, a common understanding, and interests in the security of the region. E. Rinkēvičs highlighted the close collaboration in the field of military industry and the implementation of joint projects and reiterated Latvia's interest in furthering cooperation. "Latvia and Finland set an excellent example of cooperation and executing joint projects to reinforce the military-industrial capacity. This is of great importance not only for the European Union and NATO but also for the strengthening of Ukraine's security," said E. Rinkēvičs.
On the subject of the security of the region, the President of Latvia stressed that the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO has made a significant contribution to the security of the Baltic Sea region and the Alliance. At the same time, E. Rinkēvičs underscored the need to strengthen resilience against Russia's malign activities on allied territory, emphasizing the importance of close collaboration between the respective authorities of the NATO member states.