On 27 February, President Edgars Rinkēvičs met with the President of the Republic of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, at the Riga Castle during his working visit to Latvia. During the meeting, the two presidents discussed bilateral cooperation between Latvia and Poland, regional security, transatlantic relations, and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
The President of Latvia highly valued the strategic partnership between Latvia and Poland and reaffirmed Latvia’s interest in deepening cooperation with Poland at all levels. “Poland plays a highly significant role in strengthening regional security and resilience, as well as in promoting connectivity. Latvia truly appreciates Poland’s substantial contribution to enhancing the security of the Baltic states. Latvia is interested in further deepening its strategic partnership with Poland, particularly in the fields of defence and the economy,” said E. Rinkēvičs.
The President emphasised the importance of strengthening transatlantic relations and commended the Polish President’s personal contribution to maintaining a constructive European dialogue with the United States of America. President Rinkēvičs noted that Latvia and Poland are purposefully working to reinforce NATO’s defence and deterrence capabilities, both by allocating 5% of gross domestic product to defence and by developing the necessary defence capabilities and infrastructure. This demonstrates that Latvia and Poland recognise their responsibility to safeguard the external border of the European Union and NATO with Russia and Belarus.
The Presidents of Latvia and Poland also discussed Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. President Rinkēvičs condemned Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure, reaffirming Latvia’s commitment to continue providing comprehensive support to Ukraine and stressing the need to increase pressure on Russia.
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As part of the working visit, President Edgars Rinkēvičs and President Karol Nawrocki attend a 2027 FIBA World Cup qualification match between the Latvian and Polish men’s national basketball teams.
