On 12 August, President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs met with Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis. During the meeting, the officials discussed external economic relations, availability of funding for economic development, reducing bureaucracy in the construction sector, and the development of the artificial intelligence and defence industries from an economic perspective.
In the course of the meeting, the President of Latvia and the Minister of Economics discussed the planned visit of a Latvian business delegation to California in mid-September, as well as the planned visits of Latvian entrepreneurs to Germany in October and to South Korea in November. “The aim of the visit is to strengthen economic relations. Meetings with major US businesses in the information technology and high technology sector must be used to identify cooperation opportunities, for example, in the areas of artificial intelligence, semi-conductors and others. It is equally important to promote exports of goods and services offered by Latvian businesses, as well as to facilitate new investments in the development of Latvian start-ups, which play a crucial role in the economic development of Latvia,” the President of Latvia said.
During the meeting, the President of Latvia and the Minister of Economics also discussed broader involvement of the Ministry of Economics in the elaboration of the idea of a National Centre for Artificial Intelligence, which the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development is currently working on. The officials also exchanged opinions about how the idea about a National Centre for Artificial Intelligence could be expanded from developing academic skills to creating new opportunities for local and foreign companies working in the sector.
