Ambassador’s New Year’s Greetings

Dear partners, friends and customers of the Embassy of Finland in Latvia and in Finland!

I wish you Happy New Year 2019!

I have worked now for a few months as the Finnish Ambassador to Latvia and I can say with great satisfaction that the bilateral relations between Finland and Latvia are close and free of problems. Finland is appreciated in Latvia and we are a model for many in Latvia. Latvian authorities, business and civil society are very interested in cooperation with Finland. The cultural links between Finland and Latvia also have a long tradition. Finland is well visible in Latvia’s mass media and mainly in a positive light.

The Embassy of Finland serves a wide range of Finnish societies, representing the entire Finnish state administration in Latvia. Our mission is to manage and promote bilateral relations and to promote Finland and Finnish know-how in Latvia. Finland's commercial interests and country image are also one of the priorities of the Embassy.

The Embassy monitors, analyzes and reports on developments in the political, economic and business environment in Latvia and contributes to the activities of Finnish companies in Latvia. We promote cooperation in various regional and international forums. Cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic countries is important to us, especially in the areas of security, energy, transport and trade. Cooperation in the framework of the CBSS, currently being chaired by Latvia, is also impressive. Together we prevent human trafficking and organized crime.

In the EU, we together promote a more efficient and effective foreign, security and defense policy, and we are also working on other key regional and international issues. It is good to note already now that starting from July Finland will be holding the EU Presidency for the third time during our EU membership.

Also this year we want to guarantee high-quality services for all 600 Finnish citizens living in Latvia, Finnish travelers and other customer service groups. This year we will hold two advance polls in the Embassy; first, advance voting on the Finnish parliamentary elections will be held on 3–6. April and second advance voting will be the EU Parliamentary elections 15-18. May. Welcome to vote! It is good to note that in addition to traditional pre-voting, you can now use your voting rights for the first time by letter as long as you register in advance.

The main information channels of the Embassy in addition to the web pages are Facebook (FinnishEmbassyRiga) and Twitter (FinEmbRiga), which we aim to further enhance in communication.

It is a great pleasure and honor for me to act as Ambassador of Finland to Latvia. Over the years, a large, diverse and close cooperation network has been established between our two countries and Embassy as a part of this net performs its tasks promoting and strengthening cooperation and relations between Finland and Latvia.

Riga, 17.1.2019.

Ambassador Riitta Korpivaara