During the adoption of the legislative act on the country’s defence expenditures in 2024, the US Senate permitted the allocation of USD 228 million or approximately EUR 208 million to strengthen security cooperation with Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as confirmed by Latvian Ministry of Defence.
The US Senate welcomed Baltic States’s contribution as NATO member states and as the leading countries in the international coalition supporting Ukraine in response to Russia’s war against this country.
US is Latvia’s long-standing strategic partner and ally. It plays an important role in enhancing Latvia’s security.
Latvia cooperates with US in NATO and other multi-sided and bilateral formats the objective of which is to enhance security.
“During my visit to Washington in July I received words of support from representatives of the US Senate and Congress about Latvia’s contribution to its own and Baltic region’s security in diverting 2.25% of GDP towards defence this year. We highly value the decision by the US Senate to approve the allocation of additional funding towards cooperation with Baltic States in the defence sector in 2024. The planned funding will allow us to develop Baltic states’ military capabilities more quickly and further enhance the security of NATO’s eastern border,” said Latvian Minister of Defence Ināra Mūrniece.
At the end of 2022 the US Congress approved the allocation of USD 225 million of funding to all three Baltic States as part of the Baltic Security Initiative for the 2023 fiscal year.
This funding is to be allocated towards military needs.
On the 29th of June 2022 the US president made an announcement about the US expanding military presence in Europe, Baltic States included. In December 2022 the US approved plans for military presence for the next three years. These plans provide for uninterrupted presence of US military forces and expanded participation in military exercises.
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