Foreign Minister Māris Riekstiņš to take part in NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tallinn [21 Apr 2010]

On 22-23 April, Foreign Minister Māris Riekstiņš will take part in the Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Tallinn, Estonia.

The working session of the NATO member country foreign ministers will focus on the contents and the process of drafting NATO's new Strategic Concept. The ministers are to review the work accomplished to date by the Group of Experts and the timeframe for the concept development before the meeting of NATO Heads of State and Government in Lisbon on autumn this year. The Group of Experts, where Latvia is represented by Aivis Ronis, former Ambassador of Latvia to the United States and NATO, is expected to finalise their work in May, when the experts will submit to the NATO Secretary General their recommendation for the development of the new NATO Strategic Concept.

As part of the discussion on the Strategic Concept, the ministers in Tallinn will talk about the internal reforms of the Alliance and NATO's nuclear policy.

The Foreign Ministers have also planned to discuss the relations with Russia, as well as to continue the discussion launched during the December meeting on granting Membership Action Plans to Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

As part of the Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, a working session will be held for the foreign ministers of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) countries who will debate on the situation in Afghanistan and the principles for transferring to Afghans the responsibility for security and governance in Afghanistan.