His Majesty the King and the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, with the Spanish troops at the Adazi military base (Latvia)
Robles, on her fifth trip to Latvia since 2021, stressed the importance of having an Armed Forces that are "prepared and as professional as the Spanish Armed Forces, which always receive words of praise and admiration in those countries where they provide support and service".
"Today we are lucky and honoured that the first Spanish soldier can be here with us," said Robles in a toast to the King, who expressed his gratitude and appreciation for all the effort made by the men and women of the contingent.
"It gives me great satisfaction, as supreme commander, to be able to visit you and to know that we are making an extraordinary effort at a magnificent level and with fantastic integration," said Felipe VI, who added that "it is very impressive to come so far away and find such a powerful contingent of Spaniards serving our common cause of defending Europe and NATO on our eastern flank.
In Latvia, Spain has had a troop presence since 2017 in the enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) mission, whose main task is deterrence and defence on the Eastern European flank.
On this occasion, the minister also wanted to surprise the contingent with the presence of several family members to congratulate those who were celebrating their birthdays today.
It was also an opportunity to get to know the technical capabilities with which the mission is being carried out, such as 'Leopard 2E' tanks and 'Pizarro' infantry fighting vehicles.
Some 550 army troops are deployed in Adazi, of which 358 are part of the Canadian-led Multinational Battalion, while 87 soldiers are deployed at the Lievarde base with an Air Defence Unit.
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