On 20 February, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America (USA) to the Republic of Latvia, Melissa Argyros, presented her credentials to President Edgars Rinkēvičs at the Riga Castle.
Following the accreditation ceremony, the President and the new US Ambassador discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries, with particular emphasis on the US military presence, cooperation in the fields of security, defence, energy, defence industry and technology.
During the conversation, the President highlighted the historic role of the United States in Latvia’s independence and development. He congratulated the United States on its forthcoming 250th anniversary of independence and noted the 105th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Latvia and the United States to be marked next year. E. Rinkēvičs expressed gratitude for the continued US military presence in the Baltic region and in Latvia, and called for its further strengthening. The president emphasised that Latvia is deliberately increasing its defence spending to fulfil the NATO Hague Summit commitment to allocate 5% of gross domestic product to defence. “Latvia recognises its responsibility to safeguard the external border of the European Union and NATO with Russia and Belarus. We are investing in defence capabilities and infrastructure development, including the creation of the largest in the Baltics military training ground “Sēlija”. Joint exercises with US and Allied troops are mutually beneficial, enhance military interoperability and send an important signal of deterrence,” emphasised President Rinkēvičs.
The President highly appreciated the strong bipartisan support for the Baltic states in the US Congress. “The decision of the US Congress to continue supporting the Baltic Security Initiative is a strong affirmation of the close partnership between the United States and the Baltic states, as well as a direct contribution to strengthening NATO deterrence and defence on the eastern flank,” E. Rinkēvičs underlined.
The President of Latvia expressed his conviction that close and pragmatic transatlantic cooperation remains an indispensable element for both European security and support to Ukraine. Latvia is a reliable ally in these efforts. “We have stood shoulder to shoulder with US troops in addressing the threats of international terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq, even before joining NATO,” President Rinkēvičs noted during the meeting.
