President of Latvia opened the meeting with investors by underlining how challenging 2020 has been for everyone, including the public, government, businesses and the economy as a whole. ‘Although some sectors of the economy have been hit harder and will take more time to recover, altogether Latvian economy is back on the climb and our central bank is even expecting GDP to grow in 2021. This has largely been possible due to well-coordinated response of the government and disciplined people.’
Chair of the Board of FICIL, Gunta Jēkabsone, responded to President's opening remarks by underlining that FICIL thinks Latvia needs to fix its public healthcare system and tax policy, strengthen the rule of law and promote digital solutions, as well as continue to work on the on-going reforms to bring them to a successful completion in the long run, to be more competitive, retain the existing and attract even more future investments.
During the discussion on the higher education reform, President of Latvia and FICIL members discussed investors’ take on key strategic objectives with regard to Future labour market development, innovations and science, university governance and financing models.
Another key topic discussed by President and FICIL was the strengthening of the rule of law in Latvia. FICIL praised the quality of Latvian judicial system on all levels. However, it also expects courts to become fully digital, and thus become more efficient and speed up adjudication. FICIL also asked President’s thoughts on how to boost the trust of foreign investors in the Latvian judicial system and attract more top level judges. President of Latvia underlined the establishment of Economic Affairs courts and further education of judges that is successfully implemented by the Ministry of Justice.
Discussion on the current state of affairs in Latvia’s financial sector focused on various short-term long-term challenges linked to economic recovery from COVID-19 crisis and Latvia’s human capital strategy. According to FICIL, Latvia should create an institution that would be responsible for strategic management and development of human resources for the benefit of national sustainability.
Whereas President Levits underlined that banks should improve their due diligence procedures to meet the principles enshrined in constitution and avoid overreliance on matrixes. ‘Matrixes are not the same as legal requirements. In a country governed by the rule of law, decisions regarding individuals should not be taken solely based on matrixes. Law-abiding individuals living in a free and democratic country should not be subjected to such screening and their actions and choices should not be questioned that way. This equally applies to relationship between banks and their clients,’ stressed the President of Latvia Egils Levits.
In conclusion President of Latvia thanked FICIL for promoting dialogue with general public, offering professional and clear vision of where our country should be headed. Egils Levits also stressed that FICIL should play bigger role in overhauling financial sector through more active dialogue with citizens and between various decision-makers.
