Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs - UPDATED
to be held in Riga, Latvia 30 Nov - 1 Dec 2021
- English
- French
GENERAL
Meetings of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Foreign Affairs Ministers will be held in Riga, Latvia, on Tuesday 30 November and Wednesday 01 December 2021. The meetings will be chaired by the NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.
VENUE
The ministerial meetings will take place at the ATTA Convention Centre, Krasta iela 60, Rīga, LV-1003. The Media Centre will be located at the same venue.
MEDIA ACCREDITATION
Taking into account COVID-19 safety measures and the current sanitary situation, a limited number of media representatives will be allowed to cover the event in person.
The accreditation for attendance in person is now closed. Media representatives who have successfully been accredited will have received confirmation by email. Media representatives are encouraged to bring a printout of the confirmation email when collecting their badge.
In accordance with NATO media accreditation procedures, NATO reserves the right to deny or withdraw accreditation of media representatives who abuse their privileges, put the accreditation to improper use or act in a way not consistent with the principles of the organisation.
Media passes must be collected in person from the Accreditation Office, upon presentation of an ID card or passport and, whenever possible, a valid national press pass.
The location of the Accreditation Office is Jēkaba iela 24, Rīga, LV-1050. Opening hours will be communicated at a later stage to accredited media.
Media passes must be visible at all times. Security personnel may ask to see another form of ID. Media representatives are advised to arrive with sufficient lead time to clear security checks. Security personnel will examine and may test equipment and personal effects carried onto the site.
Physical access to the ministerial venue will be granted only if one of the conditions below is met:
- The applicant possesses a vaccination certificate proving that they are fully vaccinated since 14 days before entering the venue premises;
- The applicant brings a recovery certificate that shows that at least 11 days have passed since a positive test result (recovery certificate valid for 180 days).
More details are available separately for accredited media HERE.
PROGRAMME
The meetings will start on Tuesday 30 November in the afternoon and will end on Wednesday 01 December 2021. The Secretary General's will hold press conferences on each day of the Ministerial meetings. The detailed programme is available HERE.
Information about individual ministers' media programmes should be sought directly from their national delegation(s). A list of NATO delegation press officers is available from the Press & Media Section (MOC@hq.nato.int).
BROADCAST
The Latvian Public Television will operate as the Host Broadcaster.
The opening remarks of the NAC meetings, as well as the Secretary General's press conference(s), will be broadcast in the Media Centre and on the NATO website.
Live satellite feeds of the main media events events will be provided by NATO free of charge without encryption or downlink charges. The video and audio may be used only for appropriate news and public affairs uses.
After each event, the videos are available for free download from NATO Multimedia.
POOLS
Access to meeting openings and the official photo will be open only for small media pools, by invitation only.
When a media representative accepts a NATO pool position he/she must share immediately all information and material collected while in the pool with any accredited media that request it. The media representative in the pool will share the material at no charge and with no restriction on the use of the material for news purposes. Media representatives can only accept the pool accreditation if they have the agreement of their employer to all of the conditions on providing pool material listed above.
Media organisations that want pooled images should first contact the wire service / photo agency of which they are a member / client. Media representatives and news organisations must identify that it is pooled material every time it is used. Pooled material can only be used for legitimate news purposes and it cannot be sold.
NATO photographers and videographers will provide video clips and photos of all the media events for posting to the NATO website; photos can be downloaded from www.nato.int.
MEDIA FACILITIES
The Media Centre will include the following:
- A filing centre (including TV/radio editing area), with electricity (230V), access to video and audio feeds, cabled and Wi-Fi internet. Working spaces cannot be booked in advance but are available on a first-come, first-served basis;
- Information Desk and media office support;
- Host TV Master Control;
- An area for press briefings (including pre-cabled facilities) and interview areas. Some such spaces are pre-cabled to the Master Control and / or equipped for online engagements;
- Internal Television Circuit for live and recorded broadcasts, information about the program, press conferences schedules and other information;
- NATO and Host Nation Press Offices;
- Indoor stand up area available on a rotational basis (non-dedicated positions);
- Parking area for satellite vans;
- Catering facilities for media.
ACCOMMODATION
Media are encouraged to make flexible arrangements for their accommodation in Riga. The Host Nation Latvia has identified the following hotels recommended for the media representatives:
- Wellton Centrum Hotel & Spa
https://www.wellton.com/lv/viesnicas/wellton-centrum-hotel-and-spa
- Wellton Riga Hotel & Spa
https://www.wellton.com/lv/viesnicas/wellton-riga-hotel-and-spa
When booking, media representatives are invited to enter the promocode MFA2021.
TRANSPORT
There will be regular shuttle transport for accredited media between the Accreditation Office and the Media Centre. Details on the shuttle bus schedule will be made to the accredited media. Media representatives can also go to the Media Centre directly.
TRAVEL TO LATVIA
Media representatives need to present an interoperable EU Digital COVID Certificate (electronically on a smart device or printed out) or an equivalent national COVID-19 certificate upon entering the territory of the Republic of Latvia.
Media representatives travelling to Latvia are requested to fill out the digital COVID-19 PASS within 48 hours before crossing the border, mentioning they travel for work related purposes. More information about the measures in place when traveling to Latvia are available here.
OPENING HOURS
CONTACT POINTS
Overall Coordination
Ms Alina Coca – NATO Media Coordinator
Tel: +32 (0)2 707 14 65
natomediaoperations@hq.nato.int
Ms. Madara Limba – Latvian Media Coordinator
Tel: +371 67016 484
Madara.limba@mfa.gov.lv
Accreditation
Mr Angelo Pacifico
Tel: +32 (0)2 707 83 46
NatoAccreditations@hq.nato.int
Ms Solvita Martinsone
Tel: +371 67016 117
rigamedianato@mfa.gov.lv
Broadcast arrangements
Mr Bart Vandendorpe
Tel: +32(0)2707 3578
Vandendorpe.bart@hq.nato.int
Latvian Television
Ms Lāsma Znotiņa
Tel: +371 26323910
lasma.znotina@ltv.lv
NATO Video on demand
www.natomultimedia.tv
Tel: +32 (0)2 707 12 27
content@natomultimedia.tv