Riga will host the 7th Three Seas Imitative (3SI) Summit and Business Forum on 20-21 June. Leaders of the 3SI member states, its strategic partners, businesses and investors will come to Riga to discuss the future of 3SI and its investment projects. Summit will also focus on how 3SI countries can help Ukraine rebuild after the war.
As Andris Teikmanis, Head of the Presidential Chancery, told media at the press conference in the Riga Castle, Three Seas Initiative seeks to enhance competitiveness of the region through better connectivity and innovations, especially in the North-South direction. ‘3SI is politically inspired and commercially driven initiative. 3SI Investment Fund is designed to attract additional funding and investments for key infrastructure projects in the amount of 500 billion euros. Rail Baltica is one of the flagship projects of the initiative. We want to put the 3SI region ‘on the map’ as innovative, dynamic, developing and attractive region, which is also safe for regional investments,’ Andris Teikmanis said.
According to Andris Teikmanis, other like-minded countries, such as Japan, the United Kingdom, Western Balkans and European Union (EU) Eastern Partnership countries, have also expressed desire to join the Initiative. ‘Enlargement of 3SI is on the agenda of the Riga Summit,’ Head of the Presidential Chancery said.
Edgars Bondars, Ambassador-at-Large for the Three Seas Initiative Riga Summit 2022 preparation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, underlined that Riga Summit will be a venue where top politicians and business leaders will discuss the future development of the region and its neighbourhood. ‘Many major international companies and financial institutions will attend the Business Forum. This event is a wonderful opportunity for Riga and Latvia to showcase itself as an investment destination,’ Edgars Bondars said.
More than 500 participants from 3SI region and other regions are expected to arrive for Business Forum. Summit and Business Forum offers a number of panel discussions about transport, infrastructure, digital connectivity, energy infrastructure and governance projects.
President of Latvia Egils Levits will inaugurate the Three Seas Summit on 20 June at the ATTA Conference Centre. During the summit, leaders of 3SI member states and strategic partners (USA, Germany and European Commission) will discuss current priorities and hold a post-meeting press conference.
Hanzas perons will become the venue for the 3SI Business Forum on 20-21 June. Forum and its panel sessions will be attended by high-level country officials, leaders of international organisations and businesses. Participants of the Business Forum include representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Commission, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, European Investment Fund, European Reconstruction and Development Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, US Development Finance Corporation, Bank of Latvia, Nordic Investment Bank, 3SI Investment Fund, companies like Amber Infrastructure Group, ORLEN, Rolls Royce, Atkins, Google, LMT, MikroTik and Greenergy. Business Forum will be opened by Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš and Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva on 20 June.
3SI Summit and Business Forum is co-organised by the Presidential Chancery (PC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoF) and Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIDA).
For more information, including livestreams from public Summit and Business Forum events, go to: https://3seas.eu/. Public events will also be livestreamed on PC, MoF and LIDA webpages and social media accounts.
