(above photo: President George W.Bush congratulates Latvia's Ambassador Andrejs Pildegovics) On Friday, October 17 President George W. Bush invited ambassadors of the 13 candidate countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, South Korea, Greece, Cyprus and Malta) of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) to a White House ceremony to announce the US Administration’s decision to admit seven of these 13 countries to the Visa Waiver Program. Latvia was represented by Ambassador Andrejs Pildegovics. President Bush officially announced the addition of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and South Korea to the Visa Waiver Program. Most likely in approximately one month, travelers from these countries will no longer require a visa to enter the United States. The program currently includes 27 countries. The President stated that the seven countries agreed to share information about security threats to the U.S. and that their citizens would use a new system that requires travelers to register online ahead of their visits to the United States. President Bush emphasized that Latvia and the other 6 countries have fulfilled all requirements related to admission into the US VWP. Admission to the VWP will open new possibilities for interpersonal contacts, tourism and business development. The removal of US visa requirements is yet another example of the dynamic development of the Latvia-US strategic partnership. Latvia’s admission to the VWP was due to the successful cooperation with the National Security Council, the US Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, Congress, and various research institutes. The American Latvian Association has also played a significant role for Latvia to reach this goal. Link to President George W. Bush's White House announcement On March 12, 2008 in Riga, Maris Riekstins, Acting Minister for the Interior, and Michael Chertoff, US Secretary of Homeland Security, signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia and the Department of Homeland Security of US regarding the US Visa Waiver Program and related enhanced security measures. Latvia has now fulfilled all of the technical requirements regarding the VWP. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, in cooperation with the US Embassy in Riga, has prepared a list of answers to frequently asked questions regarding the Visa Waiver Program (in Latvian).