The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, this week welcomed to Canada Eva-Maria Liimets, Estonia's former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Latvia's Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In meetings with the Baltic representatives, Minister Joly discussed the collective effort to strengthen European security and address the humanitarian and economic impact of Putin's invasion of Ukraine, both immediately and in the long term. Minister Joly emphasized Canada's commitment to NATO's presence in the eastern flank, including through Operation REASSURANCE in Latvia, a key assurance and deterrence mission.
Together with the Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence, Minister Joly and the Baltic delegations visited CFB Valcartier to meet and thank the Canadian Armed Forces personnel stationed there, many of whom have been or will be deployed to Operation REASSURANCE.
Minister Joly also met with each of the Baltic representatives bilaterally, and discussed the importance of building on more than three decades of restored relations with each of them to further expand cooperation. This conversation continued in Toronto, where Minister Joly and the Baltic delegations met with business leaders across multiple sectors to deepen Canada-Baltic economic ties.
Given the current global context, Minister Joly and the Baltic delegates affirmed that their security relationships are now more important than ever and expressed their desire to build on the already strong transatlantic relationship.
