Belarusian – Latvian Relations
Development of cooperation with Latvia is among Belarus’ foreign policy priorities.
On December 16, 1991, the two countries signed the Declaration on the Principles of Good-Neighborly Relations.
The diplomatic relations between Belarus and Latvia were established on April 7, 1992.
In 1993, the Embassy of Belarus opened in Riga, and the Embassy of Latvia opened in Minsk. The Consulate-General of Belarus in Daugavpils and the Consulate of Latvia in Vitebsk have provided their services since 1994.
The Prime Minister of Belarus visited Latvia in 1998, 2001, 2008 and 2010. The Prime Minister of Latvia visited Belarus in 1994, 1995 and 2009.
In November 2016, the Prime Minister of Belarus visited Latvia and attended the summit of heads of government of the countries participating in the ‘17+1’ format (Central and Eastern Europe and China).
On 7-8 February 2018, Prime Minister of Latvia paid a working visit to Belarus.
The Foreign Ministries of the two countries interact on a systemic basis.
In February 2014, July 2016, July 2018 and July 2020 the Foreign Minister of Belarus paid working visits to Latvia. In 2015, Foreign Ministers of Belarus and Latvia met in Minsk and Riga. In April 2013, July 2017, and July 2019 the Foreign Minister of Latvia visited Belarus.
The Foreign Ministries hold regular consultations at the level of deputy ministers or heads of departments. In 2014-2020, the parties conducted consultations on political, consular, legal issues, European cooperation and Eastern Partnership, interaction in international organizations, security, Eurasian integration, cooperation with Asian countries, participation in the ‘17+1’ format and transport corridor ‘North-South’. In June 2019, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus Oleg Kravchenko attended a high-level meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States in Jurmala.
The bilateral cooperation groups of the national parliaments meet annually. In 2015-2017, chairs of the parliamentary committees for international affairs of Belarus and Latvia exchanged working visits. In May 2016, Riga hosted the bilateral inter-parliamentary consultations on security issues with participation of the chair of the standing commission for national security of the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus. In 2017, deputy chairman of the Council of Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus visited Latvia, and deputy speaker of the Saeima of Latvia paid a visit to Belarus. In July 2018, a delegation of the Saeima of Latvia headed by the chair of the standing committee on defense, internal affairs and corruption prevention visited Belarus, where it met with the chair of the Chamber of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus and the chair of the standing commission on national security of the Chamber of Representatives. In March and May 2019, delegations of the Latvian Saeima visited Belarus.
Intensive cooperation is maintained between the ministries of economy, transport, communications, agriculture, protection of the environment, health, tourism, culture, the interior, rescue, border guard and customs services, national banks.
In December 2016, Minister of Defense of Belarus paid the first official visit to Latvia. In December 2017, Defense Minister of Latvia paid a return visit to Belarus. The two countries signed agreements on cooperation between the Defense Ministries and on exchange of information on air flights. The Defense Ministries of the two countries jointly implement annual cooperation development plans. In September 2018, Chief of the General Staff, First Deputy Minister of Defense of Belarus paid the first official visit to Latvia. In August 2019, the Commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces paid an official visit to Belarus.
Belarusian and Latvian regions have signed about 60 twin city and partner agreements. Three fora of twin cities and partners were held. The working contacts between the administrations of the capitals of the two countries have strengthened, also through implementation of the cooperation programme for 2015-2017. In May 2017, Minsk and Riga won the joint bid for hosting the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
Belarus and Latvia cooperate under the EU programmes and initiatives, such as Eastern Partnership, cross-border cooperation programme ‘Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus’, Euroregion ‘Lake Land’. A special focus is on joint implementation of projects on modernization of border control and customs infrastructure, harmonization of digital markets, the environment, energy efficiency, regional development.
About 60 international treaties and other documents in different spheres constitute the legal basis of Belarus-Latvia bilateral cooperation.
The Republic of Belarus is interested in strengthening the good-neighborly relations and developing cooperation with the Republic of Latvia in political, trade and economic, science and technology, cultural, educational, ecological, cross-border, and other spheres.
