The Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia (, lv, Taipejas Misija Latvijas Republikā) represents the interests of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

in the Republic of Latvia in the absence of formal diplomatic relations, functioning as a ''de facto'' embassy.

Background

The aim of the representative office is to further bilateral cooperation between Latvia and Taiwan in the fields of economics, culture, education and research. In addition, it offers consular services and the consular jurisdiction of the office also extends to

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. Till 2021, the consular jurisdiction of the office also extended to

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, until the opening of the

Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania ( zh, 駐立陶宛台灣代表處; lt, Taivano atstovybė Lietuvoje ) is the representative office of Taiwan responsible for the development of relations with Lithuania. As Lithuania has not establ ...

that same year. Latvia and the Republic of China exchanged recognition in August 16, 1923, when the it recognized

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

''de jure.'' After the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

occupation of Latvia in 1940, the ROC was one of the countries that did not recognize the incorporation of the Baltic States into the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and ''de facto'' recognition continued. On 21 August 1991, Latvia restored its full independence after the end of the Soviet occupation and on November of the same year, Latvia and Taiwan signed an agreement for the 'mutual establishment of trade missions', while at the same time maintaining diplomatic relations with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. On 29 January 1992, Latvia signed an agreement on the opening of a Taiwanese consulate general in the Latvian capital city of

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

(the Consulate General of the Republic of China in Riga). This policy was allegedly due to Latvian desires of receiving development aid from Taiwan, which, however, did not materialize. In response, China withdrew its ambassador and diplomatic staff from Latvia and froze relations between Latvia. On 17 September 1992, a 25-member delegation headed by

Latvian Prime Minister The prime minister of Latvia ( lv, ministru prezidents) is the most powerful member of the Government of Latvia, who presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers. The officeholder is nominated by the president of Latvia, but must be able to obta ...

Ivars Godmanis and Foreign Minister of Latvia Jānis Jurkāns made an official visit to Taiwan. During the delegation's visit, Latvia and Taiwan signed agreement for investment-protection and a letter of intent to establish direct flights between the capital cities of Taipei and Riga. After a new Latvian government under

Valdis Birkavs Valdis Birkavs (born July 28, 1942) is a Latvian politician. He was born in Riga. Birkavs attended the University of Latvia, where he studied philosophy, sociology, law, psychology and mathematical logic. He was first elected to the Latvian pa ...

came to power following the 1993 parliamentary election, the Taiwanese consulate general in Riga was closed and Latvia normalized its relations with the People's Republic of China in 1994 due to Latvia receiving very little investment from Taiwan and the conducting of a much larger trade with China. In November 1995, the consulate general was downgraded to the Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia and in October 1996, it began its operations. Since March 2022, the office is headed by a representative, currently Andrew H.C. Lee, who previously served as the representative of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

References

External links

Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia
{{Diplomatic missions in Latvia

1992 establishments in Latvia Diplomatic missions in Latvia Organizations established in 1992

Background

See also

References

External links