This year, many Nordic-themed events in Latvia are organised in the spirit of our 35th anniversary. For 35 years, our organisation has served as a bridge between Latvia and the Nordic neighbours. To mark the anniversary, the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Secretariat in Copenhagen has created a series of videos telling the story of Nordic-Baltic friendship and cooperation throughout the decades. The videos will be published during the anniversary year in both the Nordic and Baltic countries.
The story began in 1991, when Latvia regained its independence and started rebuilding its democratic institutions. The Nordic countries were among the first to officially recognise the restored independence of the Baltic states and quickly became close partners in supporting democratic development and regional cooperation. Even before Latvia officially regained its independence, the first Nordic representation had already been established in Riga. The Danish Cultural Institute opened its office in 1990 and became the first international cultural institute in Latvia. Its mission was to demonstrate Denmark’s support for the Baltic states and to contribute to areas important for democratic societies, such as culture, education and civic participation.
Soon afterwards, plans were made to establish the Nordic Council of Ministers’ offices in all three Baltic states. A document sent to the Embassy of the Soviet Union in Denmark on 14 March 1991 outlined the purpose of the offices and named their first directors – Leo Salonen in Tallinn, Richard Bærug in Riga and Anders Kreuger in Vilnius. All three came from the fields of arts and culture, which largely set the early priorities of the offices. At the time, there were no detailed guidelines for the work of the Baltic offices, giving the directors considerable freedom in deciding their priorities.
We celebrate 15 May 1991 as the founding date of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Riga. On that day, the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia, Ilmārs Bišers, signed a document granting permission to establish the Nordic Information Office in Riga at Basteja Boulevard 14.
Initially, the Riga office represented only the Nordic Council of Ministers – the official cooperation body of the Nordic governments. Over time, cooperation between the Baltic states and the Nordic Council – representing the Nordic parliaments – became another important part of our work. Today, the Nordic Council of Ministers cooperates with the Baltic states at the level of governments, ministries and public institutions, while the Nordic Council works closely with the Baltic Assembly and national parliaments. This cooperation is also an important part of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) framework, bringing together prime ministers, ministers, parliamentary speakers and senior officials from across the region.
Much has changed over the last 35 years. In the 1990s, the Riga office’s main task was to support Latvia in building democratic institutions and strengthening relations with its Nordic neighbours. Since then, our role has expanded. Latvia and the Nordic countries are equal partners working together on common challenges and opportunities. Our mission today is to strengthen Nordic-Baltic cooperation by funding joint initiatives and facilitating the exchange of knowledge, expertise and good practices across the region.
While culture continues to play an important role in our work, we now use many different forms of cooperation to encourage civic participation, support civil society organisations, raise awareness about topics closely linked to Nordic values and bring Nordic expertise to Latvia.
This autumn, we will organise three major events focusing on energy and sustainability – highlighting the field as one of the priorities during the tenure of our Director, Nina Hvid Enevoldsen:
- On 15 September, energy-field specialists and enthusiasts are invited to join a conference in Riga, organised closely together with the Nordic Energy Research.
- On 7 October, Nordic-Baltic Textile Circularity Forum will take place in Riga.
- On 30 October, our branch office in Daugavpils will organise an Energy Resilience Summit together with the Municipality of Daugavpils and the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The anniversary year will conclude with annual Nordic Days; this year – in Liepāja. Together with the Nordic embassies and the Danish Cultural Institute, we will offer a programme of cultural and informational events for local residents and visitors. Highlight of the programme will be a concert – on November 3, we are delighted to present Norwegian Spellemann Award winner singer Marja Mortensson and her band at the Great Amber Concert Hall in Liepāja. The concert is free of charge.
Information about our events can be found on our website and Facebook events page. The anniversary video series will be published on our YouTube channel and other social media platforms throughout the year.
