During his meeting with the leadership and the councillors of Daugavpils City Council, the President of Latvia emphasised the need for implementing the reforms, which were vital for development. “It is essential that the upcoming local elections would not stop the regional development and arrangement of the issues being crucial for population,” said the President of Latvia. During the meeting, considerable attention was paid to the issues of employment and training of skilled labour and high-level specialists and their involvement for the needs of urban and regional businesses.
While meeting with the students of the Daugavpils Russian Secondary School- Lyceum, Raimonds Vējonis reminded that Latvia required well-educated people and that the years spent at school laid the basis both for individual achievements and career of every person and for the future of the entire country. Therefore, particular attention should be paid to the quality of education in the country. The President of Latvia particularly encouraged the youth to develop critical thinking and promote media literacy, which had become particularly relevant in the world nowadays.
When addressing the students of Daugavpils Construction Vocational School, the President of Latvia welcomed the progress of Latvia towards dual training, when new artisans were already closely involved in the work environment starting from the educational process. He also called for every entrepreneur to see and appreciate the opportunities for training skilled labour the vocational schools provided, and to engage in the provision of learning process themselves by cooperating with the vocational schools.
The head of state visited the Institute of Natural Sciences and Technology of the Daugavpils University, which had made a significant contribution to the development of high-level research, international cooperation, and collaboration with the business community becoming a key centre for technology transfer, science, and higher education in Latvia and in the Baltic States.
“A balanced economic development is an important aspect of national security, which should receive more and more attention. The introduction of business inducing tax policy can ensure the public trust in the public administration and vice versa. The entrepreneurs will accept appropriate decisions of government with more confidence if they see and evaluate how the taxes they have paid are enforced,” stressed the President of Latvia during his conversation with the business operators from Daugavpils region.
He heard out the views of business operators on the regime of special economic zone in Latgale that had entered into force recently, and that was generally considered as an excellent opportunity to grow and as a tool that offset the current deficiencies of the tax system to some extent.
Raimonds Vējonis confirmed that he would pay close attention to the assignment given to the government for drafting a new tax policy before spring this year, which would stimulate business and reduce the social inequality among groups in the population as well as ensure real implementation of the action plan for combating the shadow economy.
While visiting the Centre of Polish Culture in Daugavpils, the President of Latvia was acquainted with the work and social activities of the Centre, and he expressed his confidence that the Poles in Latvia were an outstanding example of loyal integration and preservation of their national culture at the same time. “Thank you for your patriotism and brilliant colours you project in the life of Daugavpils, Latgale, and Latvia!” wrote the President of Latvia in his entry to the guestbook of the Centre of Polish Culture.
“Latgale is the third integral star of Latvia, and Daugavpils is a good example of how multiple nationalities can get on and work together for development of a city, a region, and the country,” stated the President of Latvia when he addressed the residents of Daugavpils at the Centre of Latvian Culture and answered the questions of those present at the end of his visit. Later on, Raimonds Vējonis attended the church service in honour of the 97th anniversary of the liberation of Latgale.
President of Latvia Raimonds Vejonis and First Lady of Latvia Iveta Vējone went on a regional visit to Daugavpils on Wednesday, January 18. During the visit, Iveta Vējone visited a number of pre-school educational institutions, Daugavpils Design and Art School “Saules Skola”, Curiosity Centre ZINOO Daugavpils, and the museum “Jews in Daugavpils and Latgale”.