Comprehensive State Defence

On August 23, 2018, State Secretaries' Meeting announced a draft report prepared by the Ministry of Defence of Latvia about Comprehensive State Defence approach. The aim of the Comprehensive State Defence is to strengthen the cooperation among state institutions, provide effective mechanisms for public - private partnership, increase the skills and capabilities of the society to protect themselves, their families and Latvia in case of crisis.

Two working groups have been established in order to coordinate and monitor the gradual implementation of the Comprehensive State Defence; a ministerial level working group headed by the Minister for Defence and the State Secretaries working group headed by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence in order to promote a common understanding of sectoral ministries regarding comprehensive State State Defence at strategic level.

In the process of implementing the Comprehensive State Defence system, the Cabinet of Ministers' strategic level exercises "Kristaps" and the municipal civil defence commissions' exercises "Pilskalns" organized by the National Armed Forces are being created. One of the essential principles of Comprehensive State Defence is the decentralization of responsibility for crisis management. Each industry ministry is responsible for crisis management in its sector of responsibility, while each Latvian municipality is responsible for crisis management in its area of ​​responsibility.

In 2021, the Ministry of Defence drafted amendments to the National Security Law expanding the classification of critical infrastructure, complementing it with sectoral critical infrastructure, or Category D critical infrastructure. Category D covers critical infrastructure, the destruction of which, the reduction of operational capacity or the cessation of the provision of critical services, pose a significant threat to public and national security during a declared state of exception or during war. Category D critical infrastructure focuses more on services whose operation is essential during any crisis so that citizens can continue their normal daily routines for as long as possible.

The pilotproject of National Defence lessons for the purpose of educating the youth and providing them with knowledge in the field of defence on voluntary basis has been ongoing for a certain period of time. However, in 2024 the National Defence lessons will become a mandatory part of the general education system.

The Ministry of Defence has created an informative brochure ''What to do in case of crisis?'' in order to raise awareness and preparedness of the general public.