“Latvia and Finland have a strong backbone. We are resilient nations on the shores of the Baltic Sea, and now we are jointly developing our military industry as close NATO partners,” said Prime Minister Evika Siliņa during her meeting with Prime Minister of Finland Petteri Orpo. The Heads of Government also jointly inaugurated the production plant of the Patria Group company Defence Partnership Latvia in Valmiera, where the production of Patria armoured vehicles has been launched.
The Prime Minister stressed that the opening of the manufacturing plant is a significant and historic event. "The plant will produce and deliver to Latvian soldiers more than 30 armoured personnel carriers annually, with the possibility to increase this capacity several times if necessary. In total, about EUR 10 million have been invested. This will be an excellent springboard for the development of our country's defence industry, for the accumulation of our knowledge and experience, and for further growth in partnership with our Finnish friends. The defence industry of Latvia is represented by a wide range of sectors, incl. metalworking and ammunition production, equipment repair and maintenance, research projects at universities, drones, 3D solutions, as well as virtual reality technologies. Let's continue to develop Latvia's defence industry - by supporting both public and private initiatives! This is how we will strengthen our country, NATO and EU security and make Latvia wealthier!" underlines E. Siliņa.
The Prime Minister expressed her gratitude to everyone who initiated this project and managed to bring it to this important moment - the Ministry of Defence and Valmiera Municipality, Patria representatives from Finland and Latvia, the Finnish Government, as well as the builders. "You have contributed the most to enable the production of armoured personnel carriers and to ensure the efficiency of the Alliance's operations and the safety of our soldiers," said the Prime Minister.
During the bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Finland, the Heads of Government addressed the security situation in the region, the protection of their borders, economic cooperation and future cooperation in the field of military industry development. E. Siliņa emphasised that Latvia and Finland are united not only by their values and history, but also by a shared vision for the future, which the countries are realising by learning from each other. Latvia has benefited from Finland's experience in implementing comprehensive national defence, while supported Finland through its own experience and knowledge in the face of Russia's instrumentalization of migration at its border.
The officials also discussed further support to Ukraine, the European Union and NATO issues.
