In November, FICIL members and high-level public sector representatives met as part of the 27th FICIL High Council.  FICIL emphasized that in an ever-changing global landscape, Latvia must take action to cultivate an appealing investment climate that fosters economic transformation. 

At the forefront of the High Council was the economic development of Latvia, highlighting issues regarding workforce availability, good governance, shadow economy, fair competition, digitalization, quality of legislation, and legal environment, as well as climate and energy policies. The aforementioned issues have been discussed in FICIL’s recently published position papers, offering recommendations in five priority areas: human capital, the efficiency of public administration, the rule of law, sustainable development, and a level playing field. 

The 27th FICIL High Council Meeting kicked off on the 2nd of November with FICIL members meeting joined by the Minister of Economics, Viktors Valainis.

The discussion focused on labor force policy, the construction sector, fair competition, the energy sector and the current economic priorities. Mr. Valainis reassured that the Government is open and keen to maintain a dialogue, ensuring that Latvia is a place where businesses and investors can thrive. In the afternoon, FICIL held four hands-on work groups that were accompanied by policy-makers from different public sector institutions: 

• Human capital development (digital skills); 
• Data-based decision-making (health data); 
• Public procurement process improvement (green and innovative components); 
• Good governance. 

On the 3rd of November, FICIL Board met with the Prime Minister and other representatives from the Cabinet of Ministers – Minister of Foreign Affairs Krišjānis Kariņš, Minister of Finance Arvils Ašeradens, Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis, Minister of Transportation Kaspars Briškens, Minister of Justice Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Minister of Interior Rihards Kozlovskis, Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development Inga Bērziņa, Minister of Climate and Energy Kaspars Melnis, Minister of Education and science Anda Čakša. FICIL presented main recommendations to improve the business climate and discussed ways to address the most pressing issues that businesses experience. During the meeting, the Chairperson of the FICIL Board, Zlata Elksniņa-Zaščirinska and the Prime Minister of Latvia, Evika Siliņa signed a joint communiqué outlining steps that the Government should take to improve Latvia’s competitiveness. 

Position Papers for FICIL High Council Meeting 2023:
Position Paper on Economic Development of Latvia for all 2023
Position Paper on Future Public Administration 2023
Position Paper on Level Playing Field 2023
Position Paper on People 2023
Position Paper on Rule of Law 2023
Position Paper on Sustainable for the Future 2023

Please note that the work groups are continuing their work with the public sector on the recommendation implementation process. If you would like to join the FICIL work groups, please let us know at amcham@amcham.lv.

Source and photo credit: www.ficil.lv