Statement
By
Mr. Qirts Valdis Kristovskis,
Minister of Defence of the Republic of Latvia
Thank you Mr Chairman.
Dear Colleagues, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
It is a great pleasure for me to be here today and to
address the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council of Defence
Ministers session once again.
Secretary General, you have asked us in our interventions
to cover the three items on today's agenda. To save time,
I will focus on two.
But first let me thank the briefers for introducing these
topics and in particular our friend Carl Bildt for his
presentation.
Let me start with the current strategic environment,
security risks and opportunities. Whilst the risks to
security may have changed radically during the last decade,
there is no doubt that new opportunities have presented
themselves. The presence of forty six countries round
this table is proof of that. The Alliances' Strategic
Concept adopted two years ago addressed the challenges
in the new environment. They may take a regional form
based on ethnic and religious rivalries, as we have seen
in the Balkans. Or they may be wider, such as the threats
posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
and their means of delivery. Each set of challenges is
addressed in its own way.
But as the last Strategic Concept recognises, enlargement
of the Alliance is also a challenge which can serve the
strategic interests of NATO. In this context, Latvia has
greatly benefited from the MAP, PARP and other processes
which have helped us with practical preparations to move
closer.
Our own joint cooperation activities over the last years
have also helped. They improve the strategic environment
and show that we are reliable partners. Military and defence
cooperation amongst the three Baltic countries has been
a particularly successful instrument which offers added
value to the Alliance.
Over the last year we have developed important cooperation
amongst the nine NATO aspirants countries. In this context,
just earlier this week Latvia hosted a meeting of Chiefs
of Defence from the aspirant countries. It placed the
accent on practical military cooperation and preparations
that we are all undergoing with the Alliance. We looked
at the experience of the last enlargement, issues of Host
Nation Support for Article 5 operations and how Peace
Support Operations impact on our National Planning system.
We were pleased that our colleagues from outside the region
were able to see at first hand how Baltic defence and
military cooperation works.
Secretary General, colleagues,
A few words about the new PARP Ministerial Guidance.
It reflects continuing and successful engagement in the
PARP process. PARP has direct and important links with
the Membership Action Plan. This relates particularly
to the Partnership Goals. We have welcomed the opportunity
to work on these goals. We realise that they are similar
to the Force Goals that Allies consider amongst themselves.
We have tried to take a realistic approach to dealing
with Partnership Goals. Our experience shows that looking
ahead, it would be helpful if the Partnership Goals could
be better tailored to the individual needs of the partners
concerned. The feedback mechanism within PARP has during
this last year been very successful. We would welcome
a continuation of this feedback and assessment during
the coming year. I would especially like to thank the
NATO Team for their committed work. It has been of great
practical value to Latvia.
The PARP process helps us to focus on the need to improve
our defence capabilities. It increases our interoperability.
During the next year, I can assure you of Latvia's continued
commitment to realistic improvements and reforms. These
will be backed by resources given the recent law passed
by Latvia's Parliament. This law fixes increases in defence
spending to 1.75% and 2% of GDP for the next two years.
The PARP and related MAP process will no doubt have implications
on the political decision on enlargement to be considered
in Prague. Let me close by saying that by next year, Latvia
will have engaged in both PARP and MAP processes to the
fullest extent possible to make the political decision
- making easier for Allies.
Thank you.
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