B. Braže: Latvia’s voice in international organizations is important and significant, and each of us is Latvia’s ambassador to the world

On August 16, 2024, the 3rd forum of Latvian professionals working in international organizations, held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gathered more than 80 experts from 27 international organizations – the Council of Europe, the Parliament of Europe, European External Action Service, Participants have arrived in Riga from Egypt, France, Ukraine, Georgia, USA, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Austria , Belgium, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and other countries.

Opening the forum, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia Baiba Braže emphasized:

“Each of our associates working in an international organization is an important support for the implementation of Latvia’s foreign policy goals. The three foreign policy priorities we all share are security, the economy and our people. Everyone has the opportunity to contribute to their implementation. It must be remembered that Latvia’s voice in international organizations is important and important, and each of us is Latvia’s ambassador to the world.”

“Also, we must all together continue to support Ukraine and limit Russia’s combat capabilities, as our security, the security of the entire EU and our allies, is closely linked to Ukraine’s success on the battlefield. Latvia – our government, business people and society in general – have done a lot to support Ukraine, and this help and support to Ukraine must not decrease – alone, or at a level national, or at the level of international organizations,” said B. .

“On the other hand, I invite you every day to communicate with each other, encourage and enable each other, look for opportunities to attract financial and other resources to Latvia – we have people who can and can do that,” invites the Minister of Foreign Affairs B. Braže.

At the forum, experts and forum participants discussed the challenges of Latvia’s economic growth and economic development and possible solutions to overcome them. The participants also discussed the strengthening of national security and defense capabilities, the development of national and public resilience capabilities and preparedness, taking into account the dangers of misinformation and new technologies, including the impact of the rise of artificial intelligence on political and economic processes.

An important part of the forum was the discussion about the future of the EU and related issues – the development of the new multi-year budget and Latvia’s interests, the EU enlargement process, activities in preparation for Latvia’s presidency of the Council of the EU in second man half of 2028, etc.

In the end, the professionals discussed the issues of public administration modernization – how to attract professionals and young people to the public administration sector and to involve civil society more actively in the decision-making process in different administrative institutions public.

The purpose of the forum is to maintain regular contact with comrades working in international organizations, to discuss opportunities to use this ability as successfully as possible to represent the interests of Latvia, to implement mutual exchange of knowledge , as well as informing the participants about the importance. issues for the development, economy and security of Latvia.

The forum is organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Office of the President, the State Chancellor and the World Association of Free Latvians.