Translated using ChatGPT service.
Today, on September 10, Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis and representatives from the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) met with entrepreneurs who have registered to participate in the trade mission to the United States, led by the President of Latvia and the Minister of Economics, from September 16 to 24. More than 60 entrepreneurs will participate in the trade mission.
Such a large delegation of entrepreneurs has never before traveled to the US. “I believe that during this visit, we will be able to attract investments of at least 1 billion euros, which will be felt in the Latvian economy in the next 3 to 5 years. I am confident that largely thanks to this visit, Latvia’s exports to the US will double within the next 3 to 5 years,” emphasized Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis while opening the introductory event for entrepreneurs.
The goal of the trade mission is to create conditions for the development of economic relations with the US, aiming to double trade with the US over a five-year period, reaching a turnover of 1.9 billion euros. It is also planned that the participating companies could see their trade turnover with the US increase by 15% within a year. In terms of investments, the direct goal of the visit is to identify at least three new investment projects, with a total volume of 150 million euros.
“The US is somewhat an untapped opportunity, as we trade more with neighboring countries and EU states. However, we see dynamic growth in Latvia’s service exports, which have good prospects in the US market, as services are less impacted by logistics costs. I am pleased that of all the trade mission participants, whose total turnover amounts to around 2 billion euros, about 80% represent the service sector,” emphasized LIAA Director Raivis Bremšmits.
The visit will take place in three US cities. In Houston, the main focus will be on energy and logistics, seeking new partnerships to attract investments in "green" energy projects, as well as in maritime freight transport. Latvian ports are interested in cooperating with the US in both military freight and energy project development. Additionally, there are plans to expand cooperation in wood exports to the US through Latvian ports. A potential in this niche is seen by Kronospan, the world’s largest wood panel manufacturer, which recently acquired a cargo terminal at Riga Port. In Houston, participants will attend one of the world’s most prestigious energy-themed conferences, "Gastech Houston," as well as the "Global Energy Summit."
The second stop of the trade mission will be San Francisco, the technology hub of the US, where meetings are planned with companies like Meta, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and others. Several Latvian technology companies will use this visit to meet with potential partners and explore investment opportunities. Some meetings will focus on Latvia’s intention to establish an artificial intelligence excellence center. In this area, large US companies are seeking partnerships in Europe, and Latvian companies working in the sector highlight this as a major opportunity to advance in AI solutions, currently used by less than 5% of companies in Latvia.
In Denver, the delegation plans to learn from the experience of the Latvian company “SAF Technika” in the US market, meet with local business organizations, and engage with the Latvian community in Denver. Several companies in Denver will have individual meetings with the potential to sign cooperation agreements.
The main goals of the trade mission are to establish contacts with investors, potential clients, and US partners, explore new collaboration opportunities and joint Latvia-US projects, and gain insight into US market opportunities and regional economic trends.
Participants of the visit include companies and organizations such as Latvenergo, LMT, TET, TestDevLab, Asya, JEFF, RixTechnologies, SWH Sets, Riga Freeport Authority, Liepaja Special Economic Zone Authority, Ventspils Freeport Authority, Fokker Next Gen, Codnity Dev, Delta Green Line EU, PrintyMed, Salaspils Siltums, AJ Power Holding, Liepaja Energy, Siltumelektroprojekts, Riga Heat, GRINDEKS, Olpha, the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Kurzeme Fishermen's Producers Organization, the Latgale Planning Region, RTU, SAF TEHNIKA, Handwave, Delta Green Line EU, BATWATEX, Moon Inc, Orbit8, Goldingen G.B., Hyper, Abillio, Sehaci, Risk Focus LV, UPCODE, Datorzinību Centrs, the Latvian State Radio and Television Center, APPLY, Pelegrin, Helve, Ax Group, AD VERBUM, the Liepaja Special Economic Zone's GI Terminal, and Riga Chair Factory, among others.
Photo gallery from the September 10 meeting of potential participants: https://failiem.lv/u/xrsb443htg