The national flag of the Republic of Latvia flew next to the Stars and Stripes at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library on Thursday, September 24 as the Richard Nixon Foundation welcomed Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs for a dinner and program featuring a conversation between Rinkēvičs and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy before an audience of American and Latvian business and civic leaders.

President Edgars Rinkēvičs and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy discussing the U.S.–Latvia Partnership in the East Room of the Nixon Library.

The program was a key stop on President Rinkēvičs’ visit to the United States, which aims to strengthen commercial ties between the two countries.

The evening opened with the Presentation of Colors by U.S. Marines and the national anthems of Latvia and the United States. In recognition of the evening’s historical significance, guests toasted with Schramsberg Vineyards sparkling wine, which was served during President Nixon’s 1972 trip to China and has been a White House state dinner staple for five decades.

In his opening remarks, Nixon Foundation President and CEO Jim Byron said that during a 1993 visit to Latvia, former President Nixon saw firsthand how the delayed withdrawal of Russian troops was deterring foreign investment that Latvia’s new market economy needed.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs touring the Nixon Library with Jim Byron, President & CEO, Richard Nixon Foundation.

Speaker McCarthy framed his questions to President Rinkēvičs around a view President Nixon expressed many times after the fall of the Soviet Union: the Communists had lost the Cold War, but the West had not yet won it. 

Rinkēvičs’ visit comes at a consequential moment for the transatlantic alliance, as Latvia steps up its defense investment and deepens its commercial ties with the United States. “The United States is a strategic partner and trusted ally of Latvia, and we want to take our economic ties to the next level,” Rinkēvičs said.

President Rinkēvičs at the Nixon Library on Sept. 24.

The conversation that followed ranged across defense, economics, energy and artificial intelligence.

The United States Ambassador to Latvia is Lisa Argyros, who served on the Nixon Foundation’s board of directors before her current appointment. Her father, George L. Argyros, a former U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, also served on the board and is presently a director emeritus. 

The Honorable Lisa Argyros, United States Ambassador to Latvia, delivering remarks.

Speaker McCarthy represented California’s Central Valley in Congress from 2007 to 2023 and served as the 55th Speaker of the House. He last appeared at the Nixon Library in 2021 for a foreign policy discussion with former National Security Adviser Ambassador Robert C. O’Brien.

Speaker McCarthy in conversation with President Rinkēvičs.