Latvia host Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit at Riga

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Latvia hosted the 3rd summit meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) on 19 December 2022 in Riga. The summit meeting has been convened on the Initiative of the Prime Minister of Latvia Krišjānis Kariņš, with the support of the United Kingdom.

The JEF was founded in 2015 after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit meeting in Wales in 2014. It comprises Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The JEF has been set up to prepare a high readiness force which can respond to crises in the High North and Northern Europe (caused by Russian aggression).

The summit meeting of the JFF was held virtually on 25 February 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The second Summit was hosted by the United Kingdom in London on 15 March 2022.

The third summit was dominated by the aggressive war of Russia in Ukraine and consequent changes in the security climate in the North Atlantic, Baltic Sea and the High North regions. They agreed to provide further assistance to Ukraine in its fight with the Russians.

Latvia

Latvia lies in North Eastern Europe and is one of the three Baltic countries. The other Baltic countries are Lithuania and Estonia.

It is called Baltic country as it lies along the Baltic Sea.

Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union and it became Independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Capital: Riga 

Currency: Euro

Prime Minister: Krisjanis Kariņs