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On 19 September 2025, the Under Secretary of State, Political Director Ivars Lasis received accreditation visits from the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of South Africa, Zenani Nosizwe Dlamini, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Kuwait, Reem Mohammed Khaled Zaid Al Khaled, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of the Philippines, Patrick Ang Chuasoto, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Chea Chanboribo.
In a meeting with the South African Ambassador Zenani Nosizwe Dlamini, Ivars Lasis welcomed South Africa’s recent decision to cancel visas for Latvian nationals traveling to South Africa. The Political Director expressed satisfaction with the fact that Latvian companies are already offering products and services in South Africa. The diplomats discussed cooperation in the sectors with high value added. The Ambassador congratulated Latvia on its being elected to the United Nations Security Council and rated positively the activities of Latvian businesses in South Africa. The officials also exchanged views on urgent global security challenges, especially the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East. Ivars Lasis thanked South Africa for engaging in the return of the deported Ukrainian children to their homeland.
In a conversation with the Ambassador of Kuwait, Rheem Muhammad Khalid Zeid Al Khalid, the deputy secretary of state-political director discussed options for expanding bilateral cooperation. This year, in July, political consultations identified areas where both countries have an in-depth interest in cooperation – pharmaceuticals, ICT, as well as the artificial intelligence technologies. The Ambassador welcomed the active high-level political dialogue between Latvia and Kuwait. She also congratulated Latvia on its membership of the UNSC, offered to share Kuwait’s expertise, and suggested a possibility of closer cooperation between the permanent representations of the two countries to the UN in New York.
The officials then discussed preparations for the upcoming ministerial-level meeting of the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council to be held in Kuwait in early October, and talked about the current security situation and conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. Ivars Lasis thanked the Ambassador for support offered by Kuwait to Ukraine.
In his meeting with the Ambassador of the Philippines, Patrick Ang Chuasoto, Ivars Lasis underlined Latvia’s interest in developing cooperation with the Philippines in economy, trade, science, education, culture and security. It is essential to expand economic cooperation in the fields where the two countries are already working together and in sectors with high value added, such as artificial intelligence. The Political Director made note of the Philippines’ experience of working on the UN Security Council, while highlighting its relevance to Latvia’s term of membership in 2026-2027.
The officials discussed developments in Ukraine, and Ivars Lasis expressed his gratitude to the Philippines for its current support. The Political Director stressed that, in the current geopolitical climate, like-minded countries need to work more closely together to strengthen the rules-based international order. Support to Ukraine will be one of Latvia’s priorities in the UN Security Council. The Ambassador emphasised the important role of the Baltic States in the NB8 region and confirmed the readiness of the Philippines to expand bilateral relations with Latvia and the Baltic region, with a particular focus on trade, investment, education and technology.
During his meeting with the Cambodian Ambassador Chea Chanboribo, Ivars Lasis expressed Latvia’s readiness to develop more active bilateral cooperation with Cambodia, mentioning the potential areas of digitalisation, clean and smart technologies, and public sector reforms. In the context of Latvia’s membership of the UN Security Council, the Political Director emphasized the opportunity to strengthen cooperation in international organisations and raise awareness of the current geopolitical challenges. Ivars Lasis called for support to Ukraine in multilateral formats so as to safeguard the rules-based international order and Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Ambassador emphasised that Cambodia desires to deepen cooperation with Latvia in the sectors of education, information and tourism, as well as exploring the ways to develop mutually beneficial cooperation in trade and economy.
The Ambassadors’ formal accreditation ceremonies are scheduled to take place at Riga Palace on 19 September.