Foreign Ministry holds annual meeting of consular officials

From 17 to 20 March the Foreign Ministry Consular Department is holding its annual meeting of consular officials, in which particular attention will be paid to such topics as the latest regarding the issue of Schengen visas and residence permits, the issue of the new biometric passports, uncovering of counterfeit travel documents, protection of child rights and interests abroad. It is planned to feature at the meeting an interactive presentation on fighting human trafficking, a seminar on crisis management strategies, and a simulation of a crisis situation, as well as a seminar on co-operation with the media. As part of the meeting a visit to the Riga Airport border checkpoint of the Riga Department of the State Border Guard is anticipated.        

Participants at the meeting include officials from all diplomatic and consular representations abroad, as well as experts from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior, the State Border Guard, the Ministry for Children's and Family Affairs, and representatives of NGOs. 

When in foreign states, consular officials perform a wide range of functions, which in Latvia are usually performed by a number of institutions. These activities include the issue of visas, the registration of births, deaths, and marriages, work with citizenship issues, performance of notary functions, the fulfilment of the duties of court, prosecuting or investigating authorities, as well as other functions which arise from the consular official's responsibility to protect the interests of Latvian natural persons and legal entities abroad.

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