The ministry proposed that the issue be considered at a government meeting on September 29.
Latvia’s Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava said the authorities needed to take action in response to the reported cases and proposed using the suspension period to strengthen cooperation with Uzbekistan.
“In a situation where, within a short period of time after arriving in Latvia, several Uzbek citizens have committed criminal offenses, including against minors, we have a duty to take action. Therefore, we propose to suspend the issuance of visas to Uzbek citizens for a certain period of time and use this time to cooperate with the Uzbek side to prevent the possibility of persons arriving in Latvia who may pose risks to public order and security,” Dombrava said.
He said the purpose of such cooperation would be to prevent people who could pose a threat to public order or security from entering Latvia.
According to the Interior Ministry, during the proposed suspension, Latvian authorities would work with their Uzbek counterparts to improve procedures for screening individuals and reduce the risk of people who may pose a security threat entering the country.
However, coalition partners in Latvia’s government were not ready to include the proposal on the agenda of the September 29 government meeting. The Interior Ministry hopes the issue will be considered at the next government meeting.
No final decision has therefore been made to suspend visa issuance to Uzbek citizens.
