From left to right: Dr. sc. ing. Toms Torims, representative of Latvia at CERN (remotely), Dr Anita Muizniece Minister for Eduction and Science of the Republic of Latvia (remotely), Dr Fabiola Gianotti, Director-General of CERN, H.E. Mr Bahtijors Hasans, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Latvia to the United Nations Office and other international organisations in Geneva.
The Republic of Latvia is now an Associate Member State of CERN, the builder of the world's largest machine, the large hadron collider, following official notification that the country has completed its internal approval procedures in respect of the agreement granting it that status and has acceded to the Protocol on Privileges and Immunities of the Organization.
Latvia’s relations with CERN date back to the early 1990s, when the country’s leading research institutions started participating in activities ranging from accelerator and detector technology to robotics. In 1996, the country’s Institute of Electronics and Computer Science contributed to the Hadron Calorimeter of the CMS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The relationship with CERN later intensified with the conclusion of a Framework Collaboration Agreement between CERN and Riga Technical University in 2012 and a Cooperation Agreement between the Organization and the Government of Latvia in 2016. Latvian institutions were involved in the study group for the Future Circular Collider in 2015 and in the CMS collaboration in 2017. Latvian scientists have also pursued PhD theses and project associateships at CERN.
As an Associate Member State, Latvia is entitled to appoint representatives to attend meetings of the CERN Council and the Finance Committee. Its nationals are eligible to apply for limited-duration staff positions and fellowships, and its industry is entitled to bid for CERN contracts, increasing opportunities for industrial collaboration in advanced technologies.
