On 5 May in Washington, D.C., during her working visit to the United States, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica met with Republican Party congressmen Keith Self, Chair of the Subcommittee on Europe of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Ryan Zinke, member of the House Committee on Appropriations and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as the leadership of the public policy think tank The Heritage Foundation. The conversations during the meetings underscored the close partnership between Latvia and the U.S. in defence, technology, and the economy and reaffirmed Latvia’s unwavering commitment to strengthening collective security within NATO and supporting Ukraine. 

Kalniņa-Lukaševica called on the U.S. Congress to support the allocation of 375 million U.S. dollars to the Baltic Security Initiative in the 2026 budget, emphasising Latvia’s serious contribution to collective defence. 

“Latvia is a reliable ally and one of the NATO countries with the highest defence investments—we will invest almost four percent of our gross domestic product already in 2025, and we are set to reach five percent over the next few years. For every dollar that the U.S. invests in strengthening the defence capabilities of the Baltic states, we add nine from Latvia’s defence budget by placing arms orders directly with the U.S., thereby promoting the development and cooperation between the military industries of both countries,” said Kalniņa-Lukaševica. 

On behalf of Latvia, Kalniņa-Lukaševica expressed gratitude to the U.S. for its continued support to the Baltic region, particularly through the Foreign Military Financing program, which has enabled Latvia to purchase military equipment and strengthen its national defence capabilities. 

One of the most important topics of conversation concerned the preparations for the NATO summit in The Hague. Kalniņa-Lukaševica highlighted the main outcomes expected of the summit: reinforcing the Alliance’s strength and unity, agreement of the member states to increase their defence investments, further enhancement of deterrence and defence capabilities, and ensuring long-term support for Ukraine. 

Speaking about economic cooperation, the Deputy Speaker of the Saeima emphasised that energy is becoming an important area of cooperation between Latvia and the U.S. Kalniņa-Lukaševica pointed out that Latvia has completely reoriented its gas supply routes and is already cooperating with the U.S. by purchasing significant amounts of liquefied gas directly from the U.S. The possibilities for deepening cooperation in high-tech areas were also discussed. 

On 5 May, Kalniņa-Lukaševica also met with Victoria Coates, Vice President of the Republican think tank The Heritage Foundation; Nile Gardiner, Director of The Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom; and the Center’s Research Associate Jordan Embree. Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a conservative U.S. think tank with an important role in shaping American policies. 

Saeima Press Service