On 16 August President Edgars Rinkēvičs paid a working visit to the Republic of Poland. During the visit, the President of Latvia met with the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda in Warsaw to discuss opportunities for strengthening cooperation between Poland and Latvia, especially in the economic and defence sectors, implementation of the decisions taken at the NATO Summit in Vilnius, regional security issues, as well as support for Ukraine.
"Latvia and Poland are close partners with active political dialogue and coordination on regional, European Union and NATO issues. Poland plays a strategic role in strengthening regional security, which is particularly important in the current geopolitical context. Latvia is grateful for Poland's participation in the Canadian-led NATO enhanced presence battle group in Latvia and the Baltic air-policing mission," said E. Rinkēvičs.
The President of Latvia expressed satisfaction with the positive dynamics of economic cooperation between Latvia and Poland, while at the same time expressing his interest in deepening the partnership. "We are interested in attracting Polish investments, especially in the energy and information and communication technology sectors, as well as in such strategically important transport infrastructure projects as Rail Baltica and Via Baltica," said E. Rinkēvičs.
The President of Latvia emphasised that Latvia and Poland, together with other EU and NATO members, should continue to provide maximum support to Ukraine. "Ukraine must be supported militarily so that its armed forces can succeed in the fight against Russian troops and liberate the occupied territories. Ukraine must be supported by the European Union and NATO to promote its Euro-Atlantic integration. Ukraine must be supported in international organisations to restore justice and ensure accountability for the crime of aggression and to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes", said E. Rinkēvičs.
During the working visit, the presidents of Latvia and Poland also discussed the current situation with the activities of the Wagner mercenary group in Belarus and the security risks they pose, the upcoming Three Seas Initiative Summit, the possibilities to support Ukraine with the export of grain and agricultural products to third countries, as well as issues related to the Polish community in Latvia.
