The Minister of Transport addressed AmCham members on increasing competitiveness and efficiency of the transport sector. The Minister elaborated on a new business model of Latvian Railway, latest developments of Rail Baltica and the improvement of road maintenance.

The next Healthcare WG meeting was a follow-up discussion on engaging with key stakeholders on our Healthcare vision and pilot projects.

The Nebraska Nice team, represented by Jeffrey Grinvalds and Rita Treija won the title of Best Chili in Riga 2019 for Husker Heatwave chili. Asked what made their chili stand out, Jeffrey admitted their secret ingredient was "love". The Rūna team received the most votes from attendees and won the People's Choice Award for the Best Vegan Chili. Nine chili entries were evaluated by an expert jury: chefs Martins Sirmais and Elfa Abike-Skrabane and chili experts Michael Ritchie and Artis Kehris. AmCham Chili Cook-Off is a traditional autumn event, held for the 15th consecutive year.

On October 7, members of AmCham and OSAC Riga Council met for a cyber security briefing. Michael Sullivan, Cyber Threat Analyst of the Cyber Threat and Investigations Office at the U.S. State Department offered some practical tips and best practices on major cyber threats and mitigation techniques. The event was organized by the OSAC Riga Council in close cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in Latvia and AmCham.

Our October Busness After Hours, hosted by Bite Latvija, was devoted to the transition to 5G technology. We had an informative presentation with a lively discussion, a chance to take part in an interactive exhibition on technology evolution and an exciting tour around Bite's open office.