Minister for the Interior Marija Golubeva attended the handover ceremony of 67 Polaris tactical vehicles donated by the United States of America
On 9 March, the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Latvia, John Leslie Carwile, the Minister for the Interior, Marija Golubeva and the Chief of the State Border Guard, General Guntis Pujāts, participated in a handover ceremony for 67 Polaris all-terrain vehicles.
The technical support will help the State Border Guard to secure the Latvian and NATO external borders through more efficient border patrols. Purchase of vehicles was financed by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) funding - USD 2 million.
In her speech, the Minister Marija Golubeva noted: Investing in infrastructure to strengthen our and the European Union borders gains in importance every day. Last year we experienced a hybrid operation of the Lukashenko regime disdaining our borders; now Lukashenko has joined the Putin-led war in Ukraine. It is obvious that challenges on our borders will not diminish in the foreseeable future.
The donation of Polaris tactical vehicles by our partners, the United States, is therefore very timely. It is more than a vehicle as it also represents support that the State Border Guard will receive through training and professional development. USA is a reliable partner that has a long history of supporting our services, both through material and technical assistance as well as help to strengthen the border surveillance and detection capabilities.
Recently, we met with Mr. Carwile in Daugavpils, at the opening of a Fire service depot renovated with US financial support. After the opening, we had the opportunity to visit the Latvian-Belarusian border together to witness both, the progress in strengthening the border infrastructure, and discuss the challenges ahead. I am convinced that our partners are conscious of the importance of border protection in this difficult time, for Europe and the World.”