On 14 April, representatives of CERN and the Republic of Latvia gathered in a virtual ceremony to sign an agreement admitting Latvia as an Associate Member State.
Latvia, which is the third of the Baltic States to join CERN in recent years after Lithuania and Estonia, first became involved with CERN activities in the early 1990s. Latvian researchers have since participated in many CERN projects, including contributions to the CMS hadron calorimeter and, more recently, participation in the Future Circular Collider study.
“As we become CERN’s newest Associate Member State, we look forward to enhancing our contribution to the Organization’s major scientific endeavours, as well as to investing the unparalleled scientific and technological excellence gained by this membership in further building the economy and well-being of our societies,” said Latvian prime minister Krišjānis Kariņš.
As an Associate Member State, Latvia will be entitled to appoint representatives to attend meetings of the CERN Council and Finance Committee. Its nationals will be eligible for staff positions, fellowships and studentships, and its industries will be entitled to bid for CERN contracts, increasing opportunities for collaboration in advanced technologies.
“We are delighted to welcome Latvia as a new Associate Member State,” said CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti. “The present agreement contributes to strengthening the ties between CERN and Latvia, thereby offering opportunities for the further growth of particle physics in Latvia through partnership in research, technological development and education.”
