On 30 July, President Edgars Rinkēvičs met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, at the Riga Castle during the minister’s official visit to Latvia. During the meeting, the parties discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries, cooperation within the European Union (EU) and NATO, Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, and the situation in the Middle East.
During the conversation, the President of Latvia highlighted the fact that approximately 600 Latvian nationals reside in Luxembourg, which serves an important role in preserving the language and culture, as well as in strengthening closer ties between the two countries. E. Rinkēvičs welcomed the format of cooperation between the Baltic states and the Benelux countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and commended the fact that the agreement on the mutual recognition of higher education diplomas between the countries had entered into force on 1 May this year.
The parties discussed the NATO Washington Summit in early July of this year, during which the Allies agreed to further strengthen deterrence and defence and long-term support for Ukraine. E. Rinkēvičs expressed his conviction that additional efforts should be undertaken to secure the support of global partners for the Ukraine’s peace initiative and that the Ukrainian-led peace summit process should be further strengthened.
In the context of the forthcoming EU institutional cycle, E. Rinkēvičs set out Latvia's priorities, which include security, the economy and finance, human welfare, climate and energy, and EU enlargement and adaptation. Additionally, the President of Latvia emphasised the need to provide Ukraine and Moldova with the requisite support to implement EU integration reforms.
