On 18 May 2022, the Estonian city of Viljandi hosted the seventh informal seminar of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and Estonia, which included a bilateral meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Eva-Maria Liimets, as well as discussions of senior officials from the two ministries on regional and security policy issues of current relevance.
The Foreign Ministers made note of the close cooperation between Latvia and Estonia in response to the war launched by Russia against Ukraine, and in providing support for Ukraine. They also underlined the need for the Baltic States to further strengthen the regions’ security through various cooperation formats. The Ministers were in agreements that the two countries should sustain their close contacts and continue coordination by working together bilaterally, in the EU and NATO, and with other international partners.
During the seminar, the officials discussed energy security matters and exchanged views on the functioning of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The state of play with the infrastructure projects important for the Baltic region was then discussed, as were the bilateral cooperation issues of current importance.
The informal seminar of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and Estonia was held for the seventh time. The event is organised annually in Latvia or Estonia on a rotational basis.