President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, went to the Republic of Estonia with a state visit on 1-3 July. On 1 July, President of Latvia and Presidents of Estonia Alar Karis visited Ruhnu Island, whereas from 2 July Edgars Rinkēvičs is in the capital of Estonia, Tallinn, where he is meeting with the President of the Estonian parliament Lauri Hussar and Kristen Michal, Prime Minister of Estonia. President of Latvia also attended the Latvian-Estonian Business Forum.
During the state visit of the Latvian president, heads of both states discussed bilateral relations between Latvia and Estonia, including economic and regional cooperation within the Nordic-Baltic, or the NB8, format. Other topics included energy security, cooperation in the field of defence and security, support to Ukraine against the Russian aggression, as well as coordination of national positions and preparation for the NATO summit that will take place in Ankara on 7-8 July.
Edgars Rinkēvičs is the first President of Latvia who has visited the Ruhnu Island. “Life on an island means you need to rely on each other. It requires patience, sturdiness and special bond with nature. I think I just described both Latvians and Estonians. It is rather symbolic that you can trace our common Livonian heritage here because Livonians used to live on the Ruhnu Island. It is very close to the Latvian shore. That is why so many were keen to get here. Some did it by boats, others on skis, but a very unusual guest arrived here on a block of ice 20 years ago – a bear from Latvia. Ruhnu is a constant reminder of how close our countries and people are,” President of Latvia underlined.
“I want to sincerely thank you all for the warm hospitality. For Latvians, Ruhnu is a special place. Many Latvians dream of coming and visiting this beautiful, nice island one day. As the Elder of Ruhnu said, she has Latvian roots and even knows the Latvian word “saldējums” (ice-cream). That is why we have brought her ice-cream as a treat! This visit, warm and cordial ties between our people, everything we do every day clearly demonstrates that we understand each other, and feel each other, on a very deep level. Thank you very much for the friendship. You can expect a lot of visitors after this visit because many more will want to come here. I hope that relations between our people and countries will continue to grow in the same cordial manner as before,” Edgars Rinkēvičs said in his address to the people of Ruhnu.
“We are neighbours, friends and close allies. It is reflected in frequent visits and even shared bike rides, sailing. Further strengthening of our bilateral cooperation in the area of security, defence, energy, transport, education and culture is as equally important. If you take Baltic countries, the closest cooperation between Latvia and Estonia is in the field of defence industry. Continued strengthening of NATO’s collective defence and deepening of cooperation between countries in the region is vital. It is especially significant because of growing hybrid threats from Russia and Belarus, sabotage risks such as hybrid attacks that test the unity and readiness to respond among members of the NATO alliance,” said President Rinkēvičs as he discussed security and defence policy with his Estonian counterpart.
During the meeting, President of Latvia reaffirmed that military presence of the US in Europe, especially Eastern Flank countries, together with presence of other allied forces, is a strong deterrent for Russia. Many allies in Europe must come to terms with the notion that Europe will need the US in foreseeable future. NATO’s European allies must also take greater charge of the conventional security of Europe. Edgars Rinkēvičs also thanked Estonia for close and regular technical cooperation, including prevention of illegal migrants from crossing Latvia’s eastern border.
President of Latvia praised Estonia for the high level of coordination of the Baltic Assembly and Baltic Council of Ministers in 2026. He also remarked on the successful and close coordination of NB8 countries under the Estonia leadership. “Latvia is fully behind Estonia’s vision of deeper sectoral integration in the NB8 region. Latvia believes it is important to maintain close dialogue and coordination between Nordic and Baltic countries in areas such as stronger regional security and defence, support to Ukraine, pressure on Russia and other issues high on the regional and international agenda. We must broaden cooperation with Germany, Poland and also Canada and the United Kingdom as much as possible,” President Rinkēvičs stressed. Latvian president also thanked his Estonia counterpart for his personal input in building closer cooperation between the countries in regional, European and Transatlantic formats.
President of Latvia praised the tradition of Livonia Award as it is a good way to appreciate Latvian and Estonian companies that successfully operate in both countries building and promoting the cross-border business relations and economic growth on both sides of the border. Estonian is an important economic partner for Latvia – the third largest trading partner and the second largest investor.
