Latvia’s new president, Edgars Rinkevics, will pay an official visit to Lithuania on 19 July 2023, BNS reports. Rinkevics will meet with his Lithuanian counterpart, Gitanas Nauseda, and speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen. The officials will discuss the decisions taken at the NATO summit in Vilnius, regional and energy security, and…
Latvia’s President, Edgars Rinkevics, met with the governor of the Bank of Latvia, Martins Kazaks, to discuss issues related to the banking and financial sector, Baltic News Network reports. The officials noted that high lending costs weakened banks’ interest in providing lending services. Rinkevics called for a “radical change of direction” from Latvian commercial banks,…
South Korea will open an embassy in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced, Yonhap reports. Lithuania opened an embassy in Seoul in 2021. Yoon met with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on 12 July 2023 on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius. Yoon called for expanding cooperation with Lithuania, particularly…
Latvia’s new president, Edgars Rinkevics, is “more people-oriented” than his predecessor, Egils Levits, Juris Rozenvalds, head of the Social and Political Studies Institute at the University of Latvia, said, LETA reports. Rozenvalds pointed out that Rinkevics had a sense of humour and was not as “preachy” as Levits. He noted that Rinkevics is popular among…
Latvia’s new president, Edgars Rinkevics, has appointed his chief policy advisers and aides, LSM reports. Gunda Reire, parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will become head of the presidential chancellery. The president’s chief legal adviser is Kristine Licis, who has served as Latvia’s representative in international institutions. Edvins Severs will continue as the…
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has arrived in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, for the NATO summit, LRT reports. He arrived in Lithuania on Poland’s presidential jet. Zelensky will have several bilateral meetings with world leaders in Vilnius. Speaking at a public event on Lukiskes Square in central Vilnius, Zelensky thanked Lithuania for its support for Ukraine joining…
Latvia’s new president, Edgars Rinkevics, addressed the participants of the closing ceremony of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival in Riga on 9 July 2023, LSM reports. Speaking to the “wise, capable, and tenacious Latvian people,” Rinkevics noted that the festival has allowed people from all across Latvia to reaffirm each generation’s loyalty to their…
NATO member states have decided to drop the requirement for a Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Ukraine on its path to NATO membership, Lithuania’s President, Gitanas Nauseda, confirmed, Ukrainska Pravda reports. This was earlier announced by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba. Nauseda noted that the move would simplify Ukraine’s NATO accession process. He stressed that…
Lithuania and Poland need to increase their cooperation to speed up the synchronisation of the Baltic electricity grids with the European system, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated, BNS reports. Also, the two countries needed to accelerate the implementation of the Via Baltica highway, the Augustow-Alytus road, and the Rail Baltica railway projects, Nauseda said. Speaking…