Israel Celebrates 30 Years of Relations with Latvia

“We have built a warm partnership based on shared values and common interests,” said Israel’s president.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Latvian President Egils Levits visited Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, where they marked 30 years of diplomatic ties on Monday.

“We have built a warm partnership based on shared values and common interests,” said Herzog. “Israel places great importance on continuing to enhance and deepen our bilateral relations with Latvia as well as all three Baltic states.”

Herzog also expressed appreciation for the Latvian parliament’s passage of Holocaust restitution legislation that includes funding to strengthen the Baltic state’s Jewish community. An estimated 5,000-12,000 Jews live in Latvia today.

The President’s office said discussions would focus on trade, and academic and scientific collaboration.

Levits, who is Jewish, was elected president by the Latvian parliament in 2019.