By H.E. Ms. Ilze Rūse, Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
“When I think of the Latvian presidency in the EU Council concluded on 1 July 2015, it was characterized as ‘vibrant’. This is an adjective that I would like to use, when presenting my country as a newly arrived ambassador in the Netherlands.”
Located in the north of Europe, Latvia with its two million inhabitants represents one of the fastest growing economies in the EU and a frontrunner of the internet speed in the world. It has a fascinating history of coexisting with Germanic, Scandinavian, Slavic influences and offers a rich cultural heritage. Just to mention that the conductors Mariss Jansons and Andris Nelsons, the soprano Elina Garanca, the violinist Gidon Kremer and the painter Mark Rotko are all born in Latvia.
Situated in the crossroads of trade routes, Latvia with its Indo-European origin has always had a unique geostrategic position. Dating back approximately 800 years, the relations between Latvia and the Netherlands are like “a stately oak tree.” Their historical ties have enjoyed prosperous periods of growth during the collaboration under the Hanseatic League and cities. For instance, trade in grain and timber with the Baltic sea region during late 16th century substantially facilitated the rise of Amsterdam as the “leading seaport”. During the 17th century more than 123 ships were built in the shipyards by Dutch craftsmen who settled in Ventspils, a coastal-town at the Western part of Latvia. Yet, official diplomatic ties between the countries sum up in just 96 years, as a result de facto independence interruption of the statehood from 1940 until 1991.
Despite its arduous past, today Latvia presents itself as a resilient country with prudent governance and a resolute European and Transatlantic commitment since its membership in the EU and NATO in 2004. During its EU presidency Latvia raised awareness in the EU on new security challenges, including hybrid threats, and possible EU responses, including through use of strategic communication. One of the largest presidency events – the Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga on May 22, 2015, strengthened EU’s cooperation with the Eastern Partnership countries.
In 2016, only 25 years after regaining its independence, Latvia has plausible prospects to obtain a full membership status in the OECD of the 34 most developed countries in the world. As an outcome of farsighted structural reforms and strict post-recession austerity measures that were caused by the severe financial crisis in 2008-2010, currently, Latvia has managed to reanimate its economic growth to 2.7% in 2015 expecting an increase to 3.1% during 2016. Furthermore, its budget deficit for 2015 was estimated at 1.3% of GDP, whereas, 2016 projections expect a decline to 1.0%.
The export-oriented strategy has been gradually stabilizing the external balance of trade with a current-account deficit expected to remain at 2% of GDP in 2016. For the first time since the recent economic slump, the unemployment rate dropped below 10% in 2015 continuing to slowly decline. Currently, the lowering of interest rates in Latvia supports a revival of consumer demand meanwhile increasing retail loans. Hence, Latvia managed to pay off its 2008 IMF bailout loan, joined the Eurozone in 2014, and has successfully repaid “75%” of the EU financial loan to date.
Riga, the capital city of Latvia, attracted international media attention by hosting the NATO Summit in 2006, whereas, its title of European Capital of Culture in 2014 brought a myriad of international guests. Many tourists visit Riga because of its picturesque Art Nouveau architecture and pristine sandy beaches stretching alongside the 498km long Baltic Sea coast. For many guests water temperatures are too low and they prefer to take the offer of nature tourism, as 52% of the country is covered with forests.
Come and visit the 2015 World Economic Forum’s 3rd greenest country in the world by choosing one of the two daily flights leaving from Amsterdam!
Embassy of Latvia in The Hague: http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/netherlands
Photography by the Embassy of Latvia.
