1. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Lee Kyung-soo visited Latvia on December 2 and attended a plaque-hanging ceremony of the ROK Embassy in Riga, Latvia, which is the ROK’s first permanent mission in the Baltic region, and a reception to celebrate the opening of the Embassy.

o In his congratulatory speech, Deputy Minister Lee stated that the opening of the permanent mission will be an important landmark in the ROK-Latvia relations and expected that the two countries will make substantive progress in developing friendly and cooperative relations.

2. During his visit to Latvia, Deputy Minister Lee paid a courtesy call on Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics and exchanged views on various issues, including bilateral issues, the ROK-EU relations, the situation in Northeast Asia and the Afghan issue.

3. The 2nd ROK-Latvia Policy Consultation was also held, with Deputy Minister Lee and his Latvian counterpart Eduards Stiprais as heads of their respective delegations. The two sides discussed a range of bilateral and multilateral issues, including cooperation in trade, investment, logistics, culture and tourism, cooperation on the international stage, and the situations in Europe and Northeast Asia.

o The two sides especially noted the possibility of cooperation in building a complex logistics network, making use of Riga’s strong point as a logistics stronghold.

4. The ROK government hopes that with the opening of the ROK Embassy in Riga, Latvia, the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries will further develop. 


                        Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

*unofficial translation