Embassy of Latvia newsletter - Summer 2011

SUMMER 2011 ISSUE #12Welcome to the Summer Issue of the Embassyof Latvia newsletter. This issue is dedicated tothe 20 th anniversary of the reestablishment offull diplomatic relations between Latvia,Lithuania and Estonia and the United States,formalized on September 5, 1991.triumphs experienced by the Baltic peoples duringtheir struggle for independence. Philip H. Gordon,Assistant Secretary of State for European andEurasian Affairs, and Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, formerPresident of Latvia, addressed diplomats, mediarepresentatives and Latvians, Estonians andLithuanians attending the event. The Joint BalticChoir, with Latvian soloist Sandra Strenga,performed the song Atmostas Baltija (Awaken,Baltics), which was a symbol of hope uniting thepeople of the Baltics 20 years ago.In his remarks, Assistant Secretary Gordonhighlighted the courage of the Baltic peoples inrenewing their independence and maintaining theirnational identities throughout the years ofoccupation, mentioning that the Baltic flags werecontinuously displayed at the State Departmentthroughout the years of occupation.Joint Baltic Choir performs at the State Dept. Photo:Peteris AlunansCOMMEMORATION AT THE STATE DEPARTMENTOF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THEREESTABLISHMENT OF FULL DIPLOMATICRELATIONS BETWEEN THE BALTIC COUNTRIESAND THE U.S.Dr. Vīķe-Freiberga reflected on the decades of hopeand suffering the Baltic peoples endured to achieveindependence, affirming that the Baltic countrieshave been extremely fortunate to have received thecontinuous support of the U.S.FORMER PRESIDENT VAIRA VĪĶE-FREIBERGAAWARDED TRUMAN-REAGAN MEDAL OFFREEDOMAmb. Andrejs Pildegovičs, Estonia’s Ambasador to the U.SMarina Kaljurand, former President of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Maria Yovanovitch (State Dept.), Lithuania’sAmbassador to the U.S. Žygimantas Pavilionis, photo:Pēteris AlunānsOn September 8 at the State Department, Latvia,Lithuania and Estonia celebrated the 20thanniversary of the reestablishment of fulldiplomatic relations with the United States with aphoto exhibit portraying the struggles andThe Honorable Don Ritter (former Congressman fromPennsylvania) with Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, former Presidentof Latvia, photo: Pēteris AlunānsOn September 8 at the Embassy of Latvia, formerU.S. Ambassador to Estonia Aldona Wos presentedthe 2011 Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom toformer President of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga.House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ileana Ros-1

SUMMER 2011 ISSUE #12Lehtinen was also this year’s recipient of theMedal.In accepting the award, Dr. Vīķe-Freiberga stressedthe need to educate societies about theCommunism regime, and condemned prejudiceand hatred everywhere in the world, regardless ofideology - Communism, Nazism or terrorism. TheMedal is awarded by the Victims of CommunismMemorial Foundation to individuals that havedemonstrated a life-long commitment to freedom,democracy and opposition to communism and allother forms of tyranny. Previous recipients includeVaclav Havel, Pope John Paul II, Lech Walesa.VIRTUAL MUSEUM OF THE MUSEUM OFOCCUPATION LAUNCHEDDISTINGUISHED PANELISTS FROM LATVIAPARTICIPATE IN NORDIC-BALTIC SECURITYCONFERENCEOn September 7, the Atlantic Council held an alldayconference on Nordic-Baltic security,examining key strategic challenges for thecountries of the Nordic-Baltic region. The eventalso featured the release of “Nordic-Baltic Securityin the 21st Century: The Regional Agenda and theGlobal Role,” a series of issue briefs on topicsrelated to Nordic-Baltic security, including NATO’srole in the region, energy security, and how theregion can play a larger role in the transatlanticcommunity in concert with the U.S., NATO, andthe EU.Former president of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freibergapresented the keynote address; AmbassadorAndrejs Pildegovičs, parliamentarian and formerMinister of Defense Imants Lieģis and academicianAndris Sprūds also participated in the discussion.See www.acus.org or click here for the conferenceprogram and audio recordings of the Nordic-BalticSecurity Conference.This conference is the capstone event of theCouncil's Transatlantic Initiative on Nordic-BalticSecurity, a year-long effort supported by Sweden'sMinistry for Foreign Affairs. The Initiative seeks toraise the level of debate on Nordic-Baltic securityissues in Washington.The Virtual Museum of the Museum of Occupationof Latvia was launched on September 2. This sitewill serve to provide information from the resourcesand archives of the Occupation Museum, such asdocuments, photographs, maps, personalmemorabilia from both the Stalinist and Nazioccupation regimes in Latvia, mainly during theperiod 1940–1953. The Museum also has a sectiondevoted to information about the GULAG andSoviet political persecution. (The Virtual Museumrequires Flash Player 10 with Javascript, pleaseallow time for the link to open)FORMER PRESIDENT VAIRA VĪĶE-FREIBERGA ATTHE ASPEN INSTITUTEOn September 7 in Washington, DC the AspenInstitute welcomed Dr. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga,former President of Latvia and Madame MichelleBachelet, former President of Chile. At the eveningevent Dr. Vīķe-Freiberga highlighted her belief inemphasizing the contribution of women in buildingstable societies. A video of the event can be viewedhere.2

SUMMER 2011 ISSUE #12BOOK-SIGNING AT THE EMBASSY OF LATVIAOn August 31 Ambassador Andrejs Pildegovičshosted a reception for U.S. government officialsand foreign diplomats to bid farewell to DCM JurisPoikāns, who is returning to the Ministry ofForeign Affairs in Latvia. Ambassador Pildegovičsexpressed his appreciation for Mr. Poikāns’contribution in advancing and strengtheningtransatlantic ties. The Ambassador also introduceddiplomats who recently arrived in Washington: thenew DCM Jurijs Pogrebņaks, as well as CounselorVineta Mēkone and Consul Ilze Vītuma.PARTICIPATE IN THE RIGA CONFERENCE (SEPT.16 AND 17) VIRTUALLY!Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, former President of Latvia withSarma Muižniece-Liepiņa, ALA. photo: Pēteris AlunānsOn September 9 Washington-area Latvians andmembers of the American Latvian Association’s(ALA) board gathered at the Embassy of Latvia fora discussion and book-signing with formerpresident of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga. Thediscussion was led by Sarma Muižniece-Liepiņa,Director of the ALA Cultural Foundation. Dr. Vīķe-Freiberga presented her recently-published booksKultūra un latvietība (Karogs, 2010) about Latvianculture and identity in a global context andTrejādas saules: IV. Metereoloģiskā saule. Gaišāsaule/ The Threefold Sun. The MeteorologicalSun.The Luminous Sun. (Pētergailis, 2011), thefourth in a planned pentalogy about Latvian Sunsongs.COLLEAGUES BID FAREWELL TO DCM JURISPOIKĀNSAmbassador Pildegovics and DCM Juris Poikāns, photo:Pēteris AlunānsThe „Riga Conference,” to be held in Riga, Latvia onFriday, September 16 and Saturday, September17, will be broadcast live, online atwww.rigaconference.lv/live, starting September 16at 4:00 p.m. Latvia time (9:00 a.m. EasternStandard Time). Your participation via Twitter andFacebook is welcome!This year the Riga Conference will welcome thePrime Ministers of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania,Finland and Poland, who will open with a series ofdebates focused on the changing economic climateand the security of the EU and NATO.Representatives from the State Department, JohnsHopkins, GMF, NDI and CEPA will also beparticipating. Topics include the ousting of politicalregimes in North Africa and the Middle East, thecurrent situation in Belarus, the impact of socialmedia on political regimes and other pressinginternational issues.U.S.-FLAGGED SHIP ARKANSAS (MAERSK)ARRIVES IN RIGAOn August 31, the U.S.-flagged ship Arkansas(Maersk) arrived in Riga Harbor for its first visit.The Arkansas will operate between Bremerhavenand Riga on a regular basis, and will carryprimarily non-lethal military supplies bound forU.S. armed forces in Afghanistan as part of theNorthern Distribution Network (NDN). Maersk’saddition of the Arkansas to NDN service willincrease the NDN capacity by approximately 50%.U.S. Transportation Command and Maersk havetransported over 5,400 containers of such suppliesthrough Riga Harbor since January 2011.3

SUMMER 2011 ISSUE #12PRIME MINISTER VALDIS DOMBROVSKIS VISITSTHE U.S.; OPENS TWO HONORARY CONSULATESIN CALIFORNIASecretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner and PrimeMinister Valdis Dombrovksis, Dept. of Treasury photoFrom July 13-22 Valdis Dombrovskis, PrimeMinister of Latvia, was on a working visit to theU.S., visiting Washington, D.C., San Francisco, LosAngeles, Austin (Texas) and New York. InWashington on July 13, the Prime Minister metwith Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner.The aim of the visit was to present specificproposals for cooperation to American businessesand finance sector representatives. The Latviandelegation included more than 40 entrepreneursrepresenting such sectors as IT and electronics,transport and logistics, metal processing andmechanical engineering, construction, andeducation. The business delegation was formed bythe Latvian Investment and Development Agency; italso included the management of the Association ofLatvian Commercial Banks and representatives ofthe stock exchange NASDAQ OMX Rīga andAmerican Chamber of Commerce in Latvia.Latvia’s honorary consuls played an important rolein developing business contacts. The PrimeMinister; Andris Teikmanis, State Secretary of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs and AmbassadorAndrejs Pildegovičs opened two honoraryconsulates in California. Finance expert Līga Hoyhas been confirmed as Latvia's honorary consul forthe San Francisco/Silicon Valley region, and Dr.Juris Buņķis has been confirmed to representLatvia in the Los Angeles area/Southern California.Both honorary consuls are Latvian-Americans, whowill further business, economic, academic andcultural ties between Latvia and California.The Prime Minister concluded: „During the visit wemet representatives from more than 60 Americancorporations, including companies which are worldleaders in their area of activities, in order tostrengthen economic cooperation. The initiative ofthe Latvian IT companies needs a special highlightas this is the field which opens the greatestpotential for expanded business activities. Byfurther developing the contacts made during thisvisit, our companies have opportunities forconsiderably increased trade volumes and forattraction of new investments from the U.S. in thenearest future.”WREATH LAYING AT VICTIMS OFCOMMUNISM MEMORIALEmbassy of Latvia Counselor Vineta Mēkone withLithuanian and Estonian colleagues at the Victims ofCommunism MemorialOn August 23 diplomats from the Latvian,Estonian, Lithuanian and Polish embassies placedflowers at the Victims of Communism Memorial inWashington to honor of the victims of Stalinismand Nazism and all those who have suffered undertotalitarian regimes.4

SUMMER 2011 ISSUE #12ARTICLE BY LATVIA’S MINISTER OFDEFENSE FEATURED IN “COMMON DEFENSEQUARTERLY” MAGAZINEThe fall 2011 Common Defense QuarterlyMagazine has published the article In the Searchfor Rebalancing the Relationship of the CollectiveSecurity by Dr. Artis Pabriks, Minister of Defenseof Latvia.LATVIA’S HONORARY CONSULINTERVIEWED BY PROVIDENCE BUSINESSPUBLICATIONBOLIS: To my knowledge there are no currentbusiness relationships between Rhode Islandcompanies/organizations and Latvia. Because ofits small size Latvia is virtually unknown in RhodeIsland. Latvia is one of only four European Unioncountries to have direct border access with Russia.Thus it can, and does, function as an importantgateway for East-West trade.PBN: What are some ways in which you hope tostrengthen this relationship?BOLIS: At least initially, my job will be to developbusiness relationships between Latvia and RhodeIsland. I plan to do this by meeting with RhodeIsland business groups and individualbusinessmen to explain and popularizeinvestments in Latvia.PBN: What challenges do you expect to face in yourrole as honorary consul?Latvia’s Honorary Consul in Rhode IslandJohn (Jānis) BolisAn interview with Latvia’s Honorary Consul inRhode Island John (Jānis) Bolis was published inthe Aug 29, 2011 edition of the ProvidenceBusiness News. Following are excerpts from theinterview:John Bolis was recently appointed honorary consulof Latvia. A retired attorney, he holds a B.A. fromthe University of Connecticut and a J.D. fromBoston University School of Law. Bolis also holds acertificate in dispute resolution from the Universityof Massachusetts. In 2006, he was awardedLatvia’s Cross of Recognition, and in 2010 receivedan honorary doctorate from the Latvian Academy ofSciencesBOLIS: My biggest challenge will be encouraginginvestments in Latvia at a time when businesses inRhode Island are reluctant to make newinvestments and hire new employees. They maywell feel that investing in a small country morethan 4,000 miles from home is a bit of a stretch. Ihope that as the Rhode Island economy improves Iwill be able to overcome this perceived reluctance.11th SAEIMA ELECTIONS TO BE HELD ONSEPTEMBER 17Based on the results of the National Referendumon dissolution of the 10 th Saeima held on July 23,the Central Election Commission announced thatthe 11 th Saeima elections will be held onSeptember 17. Polling stations will be open in 15U.S. cities from 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. for Latviancitizens abroad to cast their vote. A valid passportis required to participate.PBN: How would you describe the currentrelationship between Rhode Islandcompanies/organizations and Latvia?5

SUMMER 2011 ISSUE #12U.S. INAUGURATES NEW EMBASSY IN RIGAOn September 6 Latvia’s Prime Minister ValdisDombrovskis; U.S. Ambassador to Latvia JudithGarber, former Latvian and U.S. ambassadors tookpart in the official opening of the U.S. Embassy inRiga. The new embassy is located in thePārdaugava section of Riga and showcases apermanent art collection with works by American,Latvian and Latvian-American artists. The multibuildingcomplex occupies 10 acres and housesmore than 125 employees.IN MEMORIAM…The Embassy would like to express condolences tothe family of Kārlis Skrastiņš, a Latvian hockeyplayer whose life was cut short on September 7when a plane carrying members of the KHL hockeyteam Lokomotiv crashed in Russia. Skrastiņš,often referred to as “Iron Man,” spent 12 years inthe NHL, most recently for the Dallas Stars. The37-year-old defenseman has also played for theNashville Predators, Colorado Avalanche and theFlorida Panthers.* * * * *To subscribe to the Embassy of Latvia newsletter,please send your name, e-mail address andaffiliation to embassy.usa@mfa.gov.lv TheEmbassy of Latvia can also be found on Facebook.6