On 20 May, as part of his working visit to Japan, President Edgars Rinkēvičs visited Osaka to take part in events dedicated to Latvia’s National Day at the international exhibition “Expo 2025.” The opening ceremony of Latvia’s National Day was marked by the raising of the Latvian and Japanese flags, an address by the President of Latvia, and a cultural programme representing Latvia.
“This year marks a significant anniversary – 100 years since Latvia first participated in a World Expo. Latvia’s participation in Expo 2025 in Osaka is an important step in further developing our economic diplomacy. The joint pavilion of Latvia and Lithuania is not only a platform to showcase our cultural and technological achievements, but also an opportunity to join forces and foster new partnerships that will promote co-creation and the commercialisation of technologies in the future,” said President Edgars Rinkēvičs at the opening of Latvia’s National Day.
Following the opening ceremony, President of Latvia visited the Japanese pavilion, joint Latvia–Lithuania pavilion, as well as the European Union’s exhibition space.
As part of the business programme for Latvia’s National Day at “Expo 2025”, the President of Latvia took part in a forum dedicated to the potential of sustainable technologies to improve urban environments and mobility. The forum included insights and presentations from a number of Japanese and Latvian companies and organisations, including “LMT”, “Fortes”, “Latvian IT Cluster”, “Latvian Fintech Association”, “Apply”, and “Blockchain Association”. The event concluded with the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Latvian company “Fortes” and the Japanese company “Ichigo ECO Energy” on future collaboration projects in the field of renewable energy.
“Expo 2025 Osaka” is the world’s leading platform for nation branding and promoting export capacity. It brings together 160 countries and 8 organisations. The exhibition is expected to attract more than 28 million visitors from around the globe and takes place from 13 April to 13 October 2025 in Osaka, Kansai Region, Japan.
At “Expo 2025”, Latvia and Lithuania are jointly represented in a pavilion built around the concept We Are One, which invites visitors to recognise that everyone is part of this planet and shares a responsibility to preserve it for future generations. At the centre of the pavilion stands an interactive green glass wall, symbolising the interplay between nature, technology, and people. Using a unique technology, the wall creates a condensation effect that allows visitors to leave messages which disappear within a few minutes – a powerful reminder of our actions and their impact on the planet. The pavilion also features a “Nature’s Pharmacy” with more than 280 plant specimens from the Baltic region. Additionally, visitors are offered the opportunity to digitally plant trees (pine, spruce and birch) found in the Baltic forests, which will later be physically planted in specially designated forests in both Latvia and Lithuania.
