He’s also making a stop at Rīga Castle to visit Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs with the pair of presidents due to hold a joint press conference at 13:30 Rīga time (11:30 GMT). Video streams of the press conference are available in Latvian and in Estonian (despite the English-language title).
ERR News in Tallinn has had a sneak preview of the new building, which cost close to €8 million and is part-EU funded.
Estonia’s Ambassador to Latvia, Eerik Marmei, said: “Estonia’s relations with Latvia are very important. Latvia is our closest ally in NATO and one of our most significant trading partners. By investing in our representation in Riga, we are also investing in strengthening this relationship — be it in security policy, business, culture, or tourism.”
The new embassy is also located in a highly symbolic spot in the Latvian capital’s Old Town, just a few minutes from the presidential palace and not far from the Lutheran Riga Cathedral, which is also nearby.
The building cost €7.6 million, with just over €2 million of this coming from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. €4.6 million was covered by the sale of the previous building.
The facility has been renovated and furnished according to the needs of a diplomatic mission.
The ground floor can be transformed into an open urban space if desired.
The building was originally constructed as a computing center during the Soviet era and purchased by the Estonian state more than five years ago, retaining only its beams and a few partition walls following reconstruction — everything else is new, ERR reported.
Ambassador Marmei added: “This building was constructed based on the needs of the embassy — it is representative and secure. It offers excellent conditions for diplomats to work in, as well as for citizens to get consular assistance. It also functions as part of an open urban space. On the ground floor we have a public area level with the street, where ordinary citizens and even tourists can come and see Estonian exhibits.”
Another key aspect is that four of the current nine embassy staff members speak both Estonian and Latvian, while two more can understand both languages.
The renovation project was carried out by United Riga Architects, and the interior design was conceived by Kadri Tamme’s interior architecture bureau.
Interior fixtures and fittings are Estonian-made, and include winning artwork of the Naalesak Kunsti art competition, “Oksad ja juured” (“Branches and roots”).
The report by ERR’s “Aktuaalne kaamera” show is below.
Select text and press Ctrl+Enter to send a suggested correction to the editor
Select text and press Report a mistake to send a suggested correction to the editor
Tell us about a mistake