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28.04.2023
Latvijas Pasts releases a new stamp and a cover to mark the 30th anniversary of the partnership of the Latvian National Armed Forces (NAF) and the United States (US) Michigan National Guard. The new stamp features the new Black Hawk helicopter received by NAF from the US. The new philatelic releases will first be available for purchase at the post offices of the largest cities, as well as in the e-shop of Latvijas Pasts https://veikals.pasts.lv/. The first day cancellation of the stamp is scheduled to take place at Riga post office No. 10, 41/43 Elizabetes Street, Riga, from 9 AM to 6 PM on the 3rd of May 2023.
The face value of the new stamp is €1.65, and it corresponds to the postage of letter-post items weighing up to 20 grams in Latvia. The print run of the stamp is 25,000 copies. The release of the stamp is accompanied by the issue of a special cover with a print run of 500 copies. The philatelic releases have been designed by the artist Ģirts Grīva.
The stamp features Black Hawk, one of the new and modern helicopters that NAF received from the US at the end of last year. The aircraft were purchased with the US co-funding.
The 27th of April 2023 marks 30 years since the Latvian National Armed Forces and the Michigan National Guard joined the partnership programme. The first goals of the programme were to help Latvia develop its armed forces, especially the National Guard, after regaining its independence. The partnership with Michigan and the joint military exercises were one of the factors that had a positive impact on Latvia’s accession to NATO in 2004.
Mārcis Vilcāns, Chairman of the Board of Latvijas Pasts, points out, “Latvijas Pasts issues national tokens of value in the form of stamps, placing a special focus in its philatelic issues on the events important for the country. The anniversary of the partnership between NAF and the US Michigan National Guard definitely meets this criterion: in today’s troubled times, there is a lot of talk about the fact that an independent country cannot exist safely without its own army, and, of course, on the contrary – there is no strong army without its own country, so for us, Latvijas Pasts, it is indeed a great honour to release a stamp dedicated to the theme of national security.”
“Although Latvia and the US are geographically far apart, our countries share very close ties based on common values and security interests. The Michigan National Guard has made a significant contribution to the development of our armed forces and strengthening Latvia’s defence capabilities, so I am certain that a stamp dedicated to this three-decade-long cooperation will serve as our messenger, which will spread the story of this long-term cooperation to a wider world,” says Lieutenant General Leonīds Kalniņš, Commander of the National Armed Forces. “I am very grateful to Latvijas Pasts for its support to the armed forces, creativity and long-term cooperation,” emphasises the NAF Commander.
The new stamp symbolises the partnership between Latvia and the US in the field of defence, which is based on shared values and a common understanding of strengthening international and regional security.
The new stamp and the cover Partnership of the Latvian National Armed Forces and the US Michigan National Guard can be viewed here.
The next philatelic release is scheduled for the 9th of May.
About SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices and an extensive network of indoor and outdoor parcel lockers. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, parcel locker, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a wholly State-owned company with around 2,700 employees. The quality measurements of Latvijas Pasts domestic mail deliveries are regularly conducted by Kantar TNS, one of the leading market, social and media research agencies in Latvia. In turn, the quality measurements of the cross-border deliveries are provided within the framework of the International Post Corporation through the intermediary of the research companies Kantar TNS, Ipsos and Quotas.
Additional information:
Vineta Kļaviņa | Senior Public Relations Project Manager
E-mail: pr@pasts.lv
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