Eduardo González On June 23, 24 and 25, King Felipe VI will make his first official visit to him in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, where he will visit the Spanish contingents deployed in these three Baltic countries. As reported yesterday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release, the trip will begin in Tallinn, where the King will hold a bilateral meeting with the President of the Republic of Estonia, Alar Karis, visit the Parliament (Riigikogu) and attend a dinner official at the Presidential Palace. It had been fifteen years since a Spanish Monarch had traveled to this country, after the State visit carried out in May 2009 by King Juan Carlos I and King Sofia. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, visited Estonia in July 2021. He will complete the trip to Estonia with a visit to the amphibious aircraft carrier ship 'Juan Carlos I', which will be docked in the port of Tallinn within the Dédalo24 deployment, an expeditionary combat group deployed by the Spanish Navy within the framework of the deterrence strategy and NATO defense. The four-month mission began last April in Greece and Turkey and will sail in Baltic waters in early June. In Vilnius, the King will hold a meeting with the president of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda. Likewise, he will attend the wreath-laying at the memorial for the fallen for independence at the Antakalnis cemetery and visit the Parliament of Lithuania (Seimas). Pedro Sánchez was received by Gitanas Nauseda in July 2021 and traveled to this country in July 2023 for the NATO Summit. In addition, he received the president of Lithuania in Madrid in May 2023. He will conclude his stay in this country with a visit to the rapid reaction hangars and viewing of the 'Tango Scramble' drill, at the Siauliai Air Base, where he will hold a meeting with the Spanish contingent participating in the Baltic Air Police mission (BAP) of NATO. The Baltic Air Police began in 2004 after Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined NATO and, since then, four fighter aircraft from an allied country have been deployed in Siauliai for periods of four months. Spain participates in the mission continuously in 2004, with aerial means (F-18 and Eurofighter 'Typhoon' aircraft) and with nearly 150 military personnel. The King's official trip will conclude in Latvia, where he will meet with the President of the Republic, Edgars Rinkevics, and attend the wreath-laying at the Freedom Monument. During his visit to Riga, the Monarch will also meet with the Prime Minister, Evika Silina, and visit the Parliament of Latvia (Saeima). Pedro Sánchez has visited this country twice, in July 2021 and in March 2022, shortly after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and accompanied by the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg. Finally, before returning to Spain, the King will meet the Spanish contingent at the Adazi military base, within the NATO mission 'Reinforced Forward Presence' (eFP, in its acronym in English). Spain contributes to the mission with some 450 troops and means, such as the 'Leopardo 2 E' battle tanks and the 'Pizarro' Infantry Combat Vehicles (ICV). It is the first time that Spain deploys this type of capabilities in a mission abroad. In addition, it also provides other mechanized means, such as the M-113 armored tracked transport (TOA), heavy mortars, Sapper combat vehicles (VCZ) and 'Spike' anti-tank missiles. Due to the situation created by the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Spain has decided to reinforce the contingent currently deployed in Latvia with 200 soldiers, bringing the total to 650 Spanish troops in the mission.
