Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina attended a defence innovation summit, Drone Summit 2025, in Riga on Wednesday, declaring that the use of drones will expand more and more in future and that Latvia is an excellent place for investments in this sector.

Ms Silina said that Latvia understands the importance of drones and the need to continuously invest in innovations. Drones are increasingly used not just in the military, but also in the supply sector and agriculture.

The military aspect, however, remains crucial in that drones are changing the tactics of modern warfare in the air, in water and on land, Silina added.

The Drone Summit 2025 was the first defence innovation summit to be hosted in Riga, and it has brought together more than 1,500 high-ranking political leaders, military experts, scientists and defence industry representatives from the 18-member Drone Coalition, as well as from other allied countries.

Latvia initiated the international Drone Coalition, which it co-chairs with the United Kingdom. Since the beginning, Latvia has sent some 5,000 combat drones of various types and capabilities to Ukraine. In 2024, the total support to Ukraine’s drone capabilities from all members of the coalition amounted to EUR 1.8 billion.

The 18 countries that are part of the coalition signed a letter of intent for that purpose. These include  Australia, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine and the UK.

The Drone Summit was organised by the Latvian Ministry of Defence in partnership with the Riga Technical University.

Source: BNS

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