Latvia marks 10 years in NATO

NATO
Sargs.lv
Latvija NATO
Foto: Foto: Normunds Mežiņš

On 29 March, exactly 10 years will have passed since Latvia joined the strongest military alliance in the world — the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This historic event will be marked with a wide range of activities all around Latvia. 

Latvia marks 10 years in NATO

At 12 p.m., there will be a ceremonious event at the Freedom Monument in Riga that will be attended by the highest officials of Latvia and the National Armed Forces. President Andris Bērziņš and Minister of Defence Raimonds Vējonis will give a speech, the guard of honour will perform the ceremonial change, and the National Armed Forces Orchestra and the guard of honour will present their performances.

Military ships will be open for public viewing from 13 p.m. to 15 p.m. Residents are invited to visit the new patrol boats “Skrunda”, “Cēsis”, “Viesīte” and “Jelgava”, as well as the staff and support vessel “Varonis” in Rīga, Daugvagrīva. Meanwhile, Liepaja Port berth No. 84 will offer the opportunity to see minesweepers “Viesturs” and “Rūsiņš”, staff and support vessel “Virsaitis”, as well as the equipment of divers, mobile marine observers unit and oil spill response unit.

On the same day, Riga State Gymnasium No. 2 will organise a debate competition dedicated to Latvia’s membership in the NATO. The event will gather 150 of the best debaters from Latvian schools who will be debating on how the membership in NATO has influenced the external security of Latvia. Winners of the competition will be awarded by Minister of Defence Raimonds Vējonis.

From 29 March to 6 April, Liepāja Latvian Society House will offer a photography exhibition dedicated to a decade in the NATO. Authors of the photographies are soldiers from the Naval Force Flotilla, Recruitment and Youth Guard Centre, and others. 

To celebrate 10 years in the NATO, National Armed Forces units all around Latvia are organising open days from 26 to 29 March, offering an opportunity to discover the tasks of the units and their equipment and machinery, to meet the soldiers, and to explore the possibilities for serving in the Armed Forces or the National Guard. 

On 31 March at 9 a.m., all National Armed Forces units will raise the NATO flag.

A school campaign “A Decade of the Latvian Membership in NATO” is taking place in March and April, which will see soldiers and officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visiting Latvian schools in order to educate children about the main tasks of NATO and Latvia’s contribution to and benefits from the membership in the alliance. Over 100 schools have applied and will be visited during this period.

Latvian membership in NATO — main facts and figures:

Latvia’s path to NATO

- On 14 February 1994, Latvia joins the NATO pgrogramme “Partnership for Peace”, which offers an opportunity to receive support from NATO and its member countries for the development of the security system.

- On 23 April 1999, during the Washington summit, Latvia and six other candidates start developing the NATO Membership Action Plan.

- On 21 November 2002, during the NATO summit in Prague, Latvia receives the invitation to join the alliance.

- On 29 March 2004, Latvia becomes a fully fledged member of NATO, NATO aircraft start policing over the airspace of the Baltic states.

Participation in NATO operations 

So far, 3520 Latvian soldiers have participated in NATO operations. Among them:

- IFOR/SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1996 – 2004) — 612

- AFOR in Albania (1999) —

- KFOR in Kosovo (2000 – 2009) — 457 

- ISAF in Afghanistan (2003 – 2014) — 2443 

Participation in the NATO Response Force

Over 270 Latvian soldiers — explosive ordnance disposal experts, military policemen, staff officers, as well as marines specialising in mine hunting — have served in the NATO Response Force since 2006. In 2014, Latvia participates in the NATO Response Force with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit and a Naval Force Flotilla boat.
 
Participation in NATO military exercises

During these 10 years, Latvia has participated in 94 NATO exercises, 27 of which have been organised in Latvia. On 2 – 9 November, Latvia hosted one of the largest NATO exercises in the recent years, “Steadfast Jazz 2013”, with its headquarters in Latvia.

NATO exercises that are organised in Latvia improve various skills: crisis management (NATO CMX exercise), operation planning and management (Steadfast Jazz, Steadfast Pyramid/Steadfast Pinnacle exercises), air patrolling (BRTE air policing exercise), etc.

NATO Air Policing 

The airspace over Latvia has been guarded by the allied forces aircraft since 2004. This is one of the expressions of solidarity of the allied forces and a proof that they can share their resources in order to improve the defence. In 2013, NATO member countries agreed that on air policing over the Baltic states to be a long-term commitment.

Over these 10 years, this military operation has been carried out by 14 countries, some of them repeatedly. The airspace over the Baltic states has been guarded by air force units form the USA, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, and Germany.

NATO investments in Latvia

Within the NATO Security Investment Programme, Latvia has received around EUR 29 million for implementing various projects in order to increase the military capability. It is about 3 million euro more than Lavia’s total financial contribution in the NATO budget. The most important project that is being implemented with support from NATO is the construction of the Air Forces military base in Lielvārde.

Cargo shipment to/from Afghanistan

Since 2010, Latvia, as the leading nation, has provided transportation of non-military cargos of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) partner countries to and from Afghanistan. So far, over 90 000 cargos have been transported via Latvian ports and airports. The total contribution from cargo shipment to the Latvian economy is dozens of millions of euro.

NATO Centre of Excellence for Strategic Communication

NATO Centre of Excellence for Strategic Communication started to operate in Latvia in 2014. The centre provides support to NATO and its member countries in improving their strategic communication capabilities — it studies communication processes, gathers and analyses the experience of the member countries, as well as builds a common understanding among the member countries about the framework, process and role of communication.

Dalies ar šo ziņu