On August 9, in honor of the centenary of the Latvian Naval Forces, a parade of warships took place in the Gulf of Riga, which was received by President of Latvia Egils Levits for the first time during his presidency.
When addressing the Latvian Naval Forces, Egils Levits emphasised, “Naval forces play an important role in strengthening national defensibility, because any state cannot exist without a strong defence system regardless of the international situation. Latvia commends the operation, professionalism, and patriotism of the Naval Forces. Every citizen of Latvia can count on you and feel safe in his or her country, because you are able to ensure its defence not only within the territory of Latvia, but also outside the Baltic Sea by cooperating in international missions with NATO partners. It requires an extremely high level of training, for which I am grateful. The Republic of Latvia respects and honours you.”
Following the address, the President of Latvia hammered a silver nail at the flag stem of the Naval Forces and wished to celebrate the significant event decently.
The Latvian Naval Forces were founded in 1919 and restored in 1991 with the restoration of the independence of Latvia. Six warships of the Latvian Naval Forces, as well as warships of Allied Naval Forces from Sweden, Finland, Germany, Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland participated in the naval parade.
