Historic trade mission to the U.S. wraps up

The largest ever Latvian trade mission to the US, led by Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics and Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis, has concluded, the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) reported.
The mission, which took place from September 16 to 24, spanned three major cities – Houston, San Francisco, and Denver – and included the participation of 70 entrepreneurs.

During the visit, the Latvian delegation attended the world-renowned energy exhibition Gastech in Houston, the technology exhibition Dreamforce in San Francisco, and the Latvia-Denver Business Forum in Denver.

In addition, numerous individual meetings were held, visits to leading technology companies were conducted, cooperation agreements were signed as part of an ambitious goal of doubling trade turnover to EUR 1.9 billion over the next three to five years.

“We have already received a great amount of positive feedback from entrepreneurs about the largest-ever Latvian business visit to the US... New contacts were established, discussions on investment projects were initiated, and steps were taken to strengthen economic ties between Latvia and the US. I want to extend my gratitude to everyone involved, especially to the business delegation’s participants for their perseverance and dedication throughout the visit, as well as to the Latvian diaspora in the U.S.," said Valainis.

Before the trade mission departed, he had said he expected to see at least one billion euros' worth of investments in Latvia as a result of it. He did not say if this expectation had been met in LIAA's account of his comments. 

However, during the visit, three major cooperation agreements were signed, and discussions on investments in sustainable energy, biomedicine, and infrastructure development were initiated.

"A strong foundation has also been laid for future collaboration between Latvian startups, venture capital firms, and technology development funds in the US. Notable success stories, such as SAF Tehnika—supplying Latvian-made technical equipment to all major US television stations—and Chevron, one of the largest US corporations in the energy sector, demonstrate that Latvian companies have significant opportunities to enter the US market. TestDevLab, operating in the US for eight years, has also established partnerships with technology giants like Microsoft, Zoom, and Discord. The visit by a high-level Latvian delegation has also created new opportunities and expanded prospects for companies already operating in the US market.

"Now, we can see that large-scale trade missions like this can deliver results. We will bring back several initiatives from the US with high potential for attracting investment,” said Raivis Bremsmits, Director General of LIAA.

During the visit to Houston, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between KBR, one of the leading US companies in design engineering solutions, and Liepaja Special Economic Zone company GI Terminals. Under this agreement, KBR will provide proprietary engineering solutions and equipment for a new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production facility with an anticipated capacity of up to 100,000 tonnes per year.

The aviation fuel is expected to be produced using CO₂emissions and hydrogen. The partnership will also include consultancy services and additional support. The Gastech conference in Houston, which attracted over 50,000 participants, facilitated several discussions on potential investment projects in green energy. Latvian companies had the chance to explore the latest technologies and solutions for transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

After Houston, the Latvian business delegation met with major US technology companies in San Francisco where executives highlighted the EU regulatory challenges that they say have hampered their entry into Europe.

"In this context, Latvia’s intention to establish an AI Centre of Excellence could serve as a precondition for attracting international partners. This center will aim to nurture new talent, develop advanced AI solutions, and enhance the global competitiveness of Latvian companies," said LIAA.

In Denver a key agreement for advancing Latvian energy development was signed. Latvenergo and the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), one of the leading energy research institutions in the US, signed a research and development agreement to implement an energy transformation and industrial research project to model several Latvenergo investment scenarios. The results of this research will be used primarily to develop Latvenergo’s investment strategy.

Source: LIAA