On Friday, July 3, Defence Minister Artis Pabriks, Transport Minister Tālis Linkaits, State Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Dmitrijs Trofimovs, State Border Guard Chief General Guntis Pujāts and representatives of the VAS “Latvian State Radio and Television Centre” attended one of the newly created stages of the Latvian-Russian State border in Opuļi.
"The rapid development of technology is accompanied by border offenders today, so it is no longer possible to effectively stop them by building only physical barriers. In retrofitting the eastern border, integrated technologies will also significantly strengthen our national defence capabilities, so I am genuinely pleased to see the results of this project," said Defence Minister A. Pabriks.
For several years now, active work has been carried out on strengthening Latvia's external border, the main task of which is to make the border transparent, improve communications and the use of technology, as well as strengthen the information space.
Latvia's eastern border with Russia and Belarus is both the EU's and NATO's external borders. Strengthening these borders, as well as improving their monitoring methods, in line with the forms of modern hazards, are an important part of the protection of Latvia as well as other allied countries.
Opuļi Border Protection Division started its work in 1994. In recent years, a number of groups of illegal immigrants have been detained at the State border stage under the oversight of this border guarding department.
The responsibility of the border guarding department is the Riga-Moscow highway and railway, which is one of the most important transit routes between the EU and Russia. For this reason, the development and strengthening of communication and road infrastructure is an essential part of guaranteeing the security of national, international transport and people's movement.
Also, in the beginning of this year, new broadcasting masts has been built in the municipalities of Viļaka and Krāslava to strengthen the availability of information space and social media. The masts are also intended to be connected to the broadband optical network built throughout Latvia and are also available to mobile operators who want to improve the quality of their services in the region.
Photo: Armīns Janiks, Ministry of Defence
Prepared by:
AM Military Public Relations Department
Senior Rapporteur of the Press Department
Roberts Skraučs
Phone: 67335393
E-mail: roberts.skraucs@mod.gov.lv