During the meeting in his address to those present, the President of Latvia has pointed out that nowadays in the modern dynamic world, people of one nationality live, study, and work in different countries, and Latvians are no exception. More than 30,000 Latvian nationals are living in Germany now, who engage in public life in Germany and promote the strengthening of friendly relations between Latvia and Germany in various areas.
Raimonds Vējonis indicated that the Latvian Association in Hamburg*, one of the oldest Latvian associations in Europe, plays a unique role in preserving Latvianness and promoting recognition of Latvia in Germany.
“we find essential that our compatriots keep in touch with Latvia throughout the wide world, are aware of their Latvian identity, cultivate, and care for the Latvian language. Each of our compatriots abroad is a part of Latvia. I believe that by maintaining the link with Latvia and Latvianness, by joining forces, knowledge, and skills, we can strengthen our country irrespective of the fact how big distance is between us,” emphasised the President of Latvia.
The President of Latvia acknowledged that it was a pleasure to also see the future defenders of the Republic of Latvia, the cadets of the National Armed Forces, who were perfecting their academic knowledge in Hamburg. The President of Latvia appreciated the willingness and readiness of the NAF cadets to develop their expertise to return to Latvia and invigorate the defensibility of the country with their professional knowledge.
* Latvian Association in Hamburg or Lettischer Verein in Hamburg e.V. was founded in 1951, and it is among the oldest Latvian associations in Europe, which unites Latvians in Hamburg, the second largest German city and the primary centre of Latvian diaspora in North Germany.
