On Thursday, 13 April, the Minister for the Interior Māris Kučinskis, paid a working visit to Poland, where he met with the Deputy Minister of the Interior and Administration Bartosz Grodecki, as well as the leadership of the Polish Border Guard.
During the meeting, current developments in internal and external security were discussed, and prospects for the development of cooperation were outlined. Particular importance was attached to strengthening border security, especially in the context of hybrid attacks by the Belarusian regime, which is one of the priorities of the work of M. Kučinskis – this includes physically strengthening the eastern border, installing a surveillance system and modernizing the equipment of border guards. Both sides agreed on the need to continue work in this area, paying serious attention to it, especially given that both Latvian and Polish authorities have information that Belarusian border guards have offered weapons to illegal migrants and trained them to carry out provocations when crossing the border. M. Kučinskis pointed out that a state of emergency had now been declared at the Latvian–Belarusian border, and that this situation should continue as long as the regime of Alexander Lukashenko remained in place.
Since the beginning of 2023, Latvian border guards have stopped 1514 illegal migrants trying to enter Latvia through Belarus, while 113 migrants have been apprehended in the same period.
Latvia and Poland face similar security challenges - cross-border attacks on the border with Belarus and the flow of Ukrainian refugees. Both countries share a similar view of the security challenges in the region, in terms of hybrid attacks on borders, the consequences of hostilities in Ukraine. M. Kučinskis and B. Grodecki discussed issues related to the provision of assistance to Ukrainian refugees.
The Minister also visited the Polish–Belarusian border in Kuznica and Bialystok.
Poland has always been one of the most trusted and closest partners of Latvia, and that completely refers to the field of the internal affairs. This is demonstrated by the successful bilateral cooperation between the law enforcement authorities of both countries, as well as cooperation in international criminal police organizations, in particular Interpol and Europol. There is effective cooperation between the Latvian and Polish border guard services, both at administrative and expert level, which allows a rapid response to challenges and threats.
Prepared by:
Andrejs Vaivars
Advisor to the Minister of the Interior on Communication Issues
Phone: +371 67829685
E-mail: andrejs.vaivars@iem.gov.lv