On Thursday, 19 January, the Minister of the Interior, Māris Kučinskis, met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Spain to the Republic of Latvia, Manuel Alham Orenes, in Riga.
The meeting discussed issues related to security cooperation between the two countries.
Mr Kučinskis praised the good security cooperation between the two countries in the formats of international organisations and both sides agreed on the need to strengthen this cooperation at bilateral level. "I believe that the cooperation between Latvian and Spanish law enforcement authorities has good development prospects and great potential for growth," said Mr Kučinskis.
The talks focused on the problem of stemming the flow of illegal migrants. The Minister of the Interior pointed out that in December last year alone, 1 500 migrants tried to cross the Belarus-Latvia border illegally.
Latvian border guards cooperate with their Spanish counterparts to ensure border security and operational cooperation, exchange information between law enforcement officials carrying out border and immigration control, identify potential risks and threats to border security, establish and exchange best practices in border management.
Prepared by:
Andrejs Vaivars
Advisor to the Minister for the Interior
Phone: +371 67829685
E-mail: andrejs.vaivars@iem.gov.lv