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[TEXT: Mark Pekala US
Ambassador to Latvia]
[Greetings in Latvian]
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Latvia and the United States
have been
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good friends and partners for 90
years.
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I hope that by coming together
through language and other means,
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we’ll be able to strengthen our
partnership and find new ways of
working together.
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I am really looking forward to
getting to know Latvia and its
people in-depth.
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Less than 10 years ago, my
family and I lived and worked in
Estonia.
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During that time we had the
opportunity to visit Latvia.
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We are excited to get
reacquainted with Latvia’s
people,
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its culture, all its regions and
cities, and its stunning,
beautiful nature.
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I look forward to learning more
about Latvia and sharing what I
think is great about America.
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I am excited to visit Liepaja,
where my Lithuanian grandfather
boarded a ship in 1912
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to immigrate to the United
States.
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I hope that in my time as
ambassador, our connection will
grow stronger,
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and we will find new ways to
tackle some of today’s greatest
challenges together.
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I have spent much of my career
working with the Baltic
countries
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and more broadly with our
strategic partners in Europe
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to address issues that are
important to us all.
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I have represented the United
States at NATO, in Poland, in
Estonia, and in Paris.
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I am proud to have worked on
behalf of our European partners
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to expand the visa waiver
program and to enhance
partnerships in eastern and central Europe.
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I also worked closely with our
Baltic partners
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as they worked to become members
of both NATO and the European Union.
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Now, Latvia is helping others
along that path.
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I’ll soon be arriving in Latvia
with my wife, Maria, and our
two children.
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My family loves to bike and
hike, and we plan to explore all
that Latvia has to offer.
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So, until then, uz tikšanos.
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Produced by the U.S. Department of State]