On 13 March, President Edgars Rinkēvičs met with Commander of NATO’s Multinational Division “North”, Major General Jette Albinus of the Danish Armed Forces, at the Riga Castle.
During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the current security situation and the significance of effective deterrence through an increased presence of allied forces and capabilities on NATO’s eastern flank. President Edgars Rinkēvičs and Major General Jette Albinus agreed on the key role of Multinational Division “North” in ensuring the interoperability of national, regional, and Alliance-wide collective efforts, as well as in executing collective defence tasks.
E. Rinkēvičs reaffirmed Latvia’s commitment to significantly increase defence spending, aiming to reach 5% of GDP in the coming years. These investments will be directed towards priority defence capabilities and infrastructure development to enhance host nation support for allied forces. Major General Albinus informed about Denmark’s continued military presence in Latvia and ongoing efforts to expand the operations of Multinational Division “North.” This development will take place in close cooperation with the Canada-led NATO Multinational Brigade in Latvia and its allied contingents.
"In the current geopolitical environment, the presence of allied forces in Latvia and an effective command structure serve as a tangible demonstration of NATO’s and its allies’ unwavering commitment to deterrence and defence against the long-term threat posed by Russia," emphasised President Edgars Rinkēvičs.
Major General Jette Albinus has been serving as Commander of NATO’s Multinational Division “North” since 17 August 2023. Multinational Division North (MND-N) Headquarters was established at the National Armed Forces Base “Ādaži” in March 2019. Since then, the headquarters has achieved full operational capability and continues to develop under the leadership of Latvia and Denmark as framework nations.
