I am very pleased and privileged to be here today and address Latvian and Indian business communities at the Latvia–India Business Forum.
I
The Latvia–India Business Forum, organized for the visit of Hon’ble Vice President of India Mr Venkaiah Naidu to the Republic of Latvia, is a unique opportunity to come together and share our views, in order to promote better understanding, develop synergies and interactions which in one word could be described as connectivity.
As a member of NATO, EU, OECD and Eurozone, Latvia represents one of the most secure, liberal and dynamic regions in the world.
While enjoying the above-mentioned privileges, still one of our top priorities is overall economic development. Latvia has been able to deliver rapid economic growth recently, with the economy increasingly moving in the direction of making more and more innovative products as well as offering high-value added services.
Meanwhile, India, being a global and economic powerhouse, is a really attractive cooperation partner for many. Importantly, prospects are even more promising from now on, given India’s increasing role in the global economy.
Therefore, we are strongly interested in developing deeper cooperation between our businesses by discovering common touchpoints in the business forums like these.
II
Not going deep into details at this stage, I still would like to point out a few areas where we can advance cooperation with India. These are education, the transport and logistics sector, and IT-related industries.
We invite Indian research institutes, private and public stakeholders to use Latvia’s smart city ecosystem (like, smart mobility, waste management and circular economy, citizen engagement and civil safety) as a testbed for development of new technologies.
I am delighted about the close cooperation of Universities in Latvia, namely – Riga Technical University, Daugavpils University and Ventspils University of Applied Sciences with Haridwar Dev Sanskriti University in India.
Secondly, Latvia has excellent geographical location and well-developed transport and logistics infrastructure.
More important, Latvia can be viewed as a gateway to Northern Europe, an essential factor for Indian businesses willing to expand their presence in the region. We can provide multimodal transportation services from Asia to Europe and vice-versa.
Finally, our IT sector, the backbone of Latvia’s service industries, can provide top-notch solutions even for the most demanding customers.
Latvia’s IT solutions are being exported and used all around the world, including Europe, North and Latin America, Africa and Asia.
On top of that it is worth mentioning that Latvia has become one of the first countries in Europe and the world to launch a 5G communication network.
III
The delegation of Indian entrepreneurs taking part in the Forum and the wide range of participants give a clear signal about the interest and potential to expand mutual economic and trade cooperation.
Today’s forum is an excellent platform that can result in tangible outcomes to both sides. Take, for instance, the memorandums of understanding to be signed today between the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, as well as between Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Confederation of Indian Industry.
So, let’s work together to ensure this business event will strengthen not only the existing business ties but also accelerate creation of new ones.
