On 2 June 2022, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, as part of her working visit to Canada, visited the Canadian Forces Base Valcartier together with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Estonia and Lithuania and met with Canadian soldiers who had once served in the NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) battle group in Latvia.
The Parliamentary secretary thanked the Canadian military and society as a whole for their indispensable contribution to safeguarding Latvia’s security. During the meeting, the soldiers underlined the importance of cooperation experience they gained in the NATO eFP battle group.
After the visit to the military base, a bilateral meeting with Mélanie Joly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica expressed gratitude for Canada’s contribution to bolstering security in Latvia and the Baltic region. Latvia welcomes Canada’s vital support and rapid decision-making and implementation concerning the deployment of additional troops in Latvia, the Parliamentary Secretary said. Canada, in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has sent 130 additional personnel to Latvia and delivered a frigate to the Baltic Sea.
Foreign Minister Joly underlined that Canada highly valued Latvia’s notable military, humanitarian and political support for Ukraine. The Minister also confirmed that Latvian society could rely on Canada and its commitments under the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
The officials discussed current bilateral matters with a special focus on cooperation in the security and economic sectors. Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica invited Canada to take part in the Three Seas Initiative Summit and Business Forum to be held in Riga this coming 20-21 June. The Parliamentary Secretary and Mélanie Joly were unanimous that relationship between their two states was excellent and should be further enhanced.
During both the bilateral meeting and a joint discussion with the Foreign Ministers of Canada, Estonia and Lithuania, particular attention was paid to preparations for the NATO summit in Madrid. The Parliamentary Secretary underlined that concrete decisions were needed regarding the strengthening of the Baltic States’ security.