Online Meeting with Marija Golubeva, Minister of Interior of the Republic of Latvia

Joint Chamber Online Meeting with Ms Marija Golubeva, Minister of Interior of the Republic of Latvia was held on Thursday 2 December. The discussion was moderated by Jānis Zelmenis, Managing Partner, BDO Latvija.

During the discussion, Minister spoke about the ministry’s priorities for 2022, development of the Interior System and improvement of Latvian internal security and current situation on Belarus Border. Minister noted that current education system in the field of security sciences is fragmented with gaps in the areas such as cybercrime and financial crime. The solution to this will be establishing consortium “Academy of Security Sciences” in cooperation with the State Police College, Riga Stradins University and Latvian University. First students will start their studies in 2023. Minister also mentioned the introduction of Digital Nomad Visa – a new form of visa that would allow travelling nomads to legally work in Latvia during their migration. This would attract travelling digital workers to the country, where they would spend money, share knowledge, and generally benefit the local economy. Minister also reported that fight against online abuse has become one of the priorities in the years to come with working group on hate crimes established in June 2021. The working group has pointed out the need to improve the collection of data on hate crimes, improving regulatory framework, and preparedness of law enforcement officers to work with victims. When talking about the situation on Belalrus Border, Minister pointed out the current situation and also assured that Latvia is well equipped and prepared in case the situation escalates.

We would like to thank Minister Marija Golubeva for finding time to address our members on these important security topics.