During the discussions, the President of Latvia expressed his satisfaction with the bilateral relations between the two countries, describing them as excellent. In recent years, these ties have both deepened and broadened, influenced by regional security challenges and Finland’s accession to NATO. “Finland and Latvia have been close allies and friends since the early years of the Latvian State. This is confirmed by the state visit of Latvia’s first President, Jānis Čakste, to Finland in 1926. Current security challenges and Finland’s accession to NATO in 2023 have brought us even closer together. In today’s geopolitical environment, Finland is an indispensable NATO Ally for Latvia, particularly in safeguarding the Baltic Sea and the eastern flank,” said President Rinkēvičs.
During the meeting, President Rinkēvičs highlighted the successful collaboration in the defence industry, particularly in projects aimed at increasing artillery shell production capacity in Europe and in joint armoured vehicle system procurement projects with Patria. “These areas of development are of critical importance for the Armed Forces and strengthen Latvia’s national economy. We wish to continue and expand cooperation in the defence industry. Latvia is interested in acquiring experience and technology from countries with established defence industry traditions and global military production facilities, such as Finland,” emphasised President Rinkēvičs underlined in the discussion.
The parties exchanged views on ways to strengthen the external security of the European Union (EU) and NATO. The President of Latvia expressed appreciation for the cooperation and exchange of experience between the Latvian and Finnish border guard authorities and thanked the Finnish Border Guard for its support in protecting Latvia’s eastern border. “Latvia ensures continuous and targeted protection of the EU’s external border. We are constructing physical barriers, developing electronic surveillance, and deploying anti-mobility equipment along the country’s eastern frontier to strengthen the border militarily as well. We highly value the operational cooperation with the countries in the region that border Belarus and Russia,” said the President of Latvia.
Speaking about economic cooperation, President Rinkēvičs expressed Latvia’s interest in further developing bilateral cooperation in the fields of transport, green energy, and the digital sector, as well as in research, innovation, and tourism. Finland is also an important partner in air transport cooperation. For example, airBaltic’s base in Tampere strengthens connectivity within the region.
“We are pleased with the interest shown by Finnish students in studying at Latvian universities, particularly in medical studies at Riga Stradiņš University. We have also established a valuable exchange of experience through the Erasmus+ programme, alongside wide-ranging and diverse cooperation in the field of culture,” said E. Rinkēvičs.
The State visit of the President of Finland to Latvia will continue on 17 September, when the presidents of both countries will visit Liepāja. In Liepāja, the President of Finland will meet with representatives of the Liepāja City Council, visit the Liepāja Museum and the Holy Trinity Cathedral, followed by a tour of the Headquarters of the Latvian National Armed Forces Naval Command.
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The first State visit of the President of Latvia to Finland took place in 1926, when President Jānis Čakste visited the country. A month later, the President of Finland, Lauri Kristian Relander, paid a State visit to Latvia. Since Latvia regained its independence, there have been four Finnish presidential State visits to Latvia and three Latvian presidential State visits to Finland. The most recent State visit to Latvia took place in 2013, when the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, visited the country.
