July 5th, 2023
Agenda
08:00 - 09:00
Registration and Coffee
09:00 - 09:05
Ziedonis Hall
Welcoming speech
Pēteris Blumbergs
President, World Federation of Free Latvians
09:05 - 09:30
Ziedonis Hall
Opening Remarks
Egils Levits
The President of Republic of Latvia
Krišjānis Kariņš
Prime Minister of Latvia
Edgars Rinkēvičs
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia
09:30 - 09:45
Ziedonis Hall
Latvia’s Economic Growth Success of the Previous 10 Years
Morten Hansen
Head of Economics Department at Stockholm School of Economics in Riga
09:45 - 10:30
Ziedonis Hall
Big Picture Latvia: Opportunities for Economic Growth
Morten Hansen (moderator)
Head of Economics Department at Stockholm School of Economics in Riga
Nils Melngailis
Chairman, Luminor Bank AS/Estonia
Zlata Elksniņa-Zaščirinska
Chairperson of the Board at FICIL, Country Managing Partner at PwC Latvia
10:30 - 10:45
Coffee break
10:45 - 11:00
Ziedonis Hall
Latvia’s Case for Foreign Investment
Mārtiņš Andersons
President of the American Latvian Association
11:00 - 11:45
Ziedonis Hall
Invest for Growth
Mārtiņš Andersons (moderator)
President of the American Latvian Association
Fredis Bikovs
Director of Riga Investment and Tourism Agency
Kaspars Rožkalns
Director General of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA)
Roberts Grava
CEO, Crown Agents Investment Management
11:45 - 12:00
Ziedonis Hall
Address by Mr. Mārtiņš Staķis, Mayor of Riga
Mārtiņš Staķis
Mayor of Riga
12:00 - 13:00
Lunch Break
13:00 - 14:50
Events premises on Level 11 and Level 12
Breakout Sessions
Conference centre
Panel Discussion #1: Services
13:00 - 13:50Business Looks at Latvia: A Country’s Image as a Key Differentiator for Landing Businesses and Tourists
Inese Šīrava
Director of the Tourism Department, Investment and Development Agency of Latvia
Ieva Lasmane
Head of Tourism Department at Riga Investment and Tourism Agency
Aleksandra Malinovska
UX Program Manager, Google
13:50 - 14:00Break
14:00 - 14:50Latvia Moving Forward: Building 21st Century Transportation and Communications
Ilga Anita Bērzkalna (moderator)
Board member, development director, LPKS LATRAPS
Martin Gauss
CEO of airBaltic
Anrī Leimanis
Chief ESG Officer and Vice-Chairperson of the Management Board at RB Rail AS
Kārlis Ķirsis
Chief Legal Officer, GXO Logistics, Inc.
Conference centre
Panel Discussion #2: People (This discussion will be held in Latvian)
13:00 - 13:50Eyes Wide Open: How Latvia’s Municipalities Win Foreign Business, and in the Process Remigration to Latvia
Dr. Inta Mieriņa
Director of the Centre for Diaspora and Migration Research, University of Latvia
Gunārs Ansiņš
Mayor of Liepāja
Raivis Bremšmits
Director of the State Sustainable Development Planning Department at Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of Latvia
13:50 - 14:00Break
14:00 - 14:50Latvia’s Got Talent: Retention and Upskilling of the Labor Force as Competitive Global Advantage
Laura Ramanis (moderator)
Honorary Consul for the Republic of Latvia in Northern California
Evita Simsone
Director of State Employment Agency
Aļesja Kirčenko
Chairperson at ABSL Latvia and Deputy Head at SEB Global Services in Riga
Liza Belozerova
Senior Manager at Google.org EMEA
Conference centre
Panel Discussion #3: Innovation
13:00 - 13:50Bio Frontier: The Future of Latvia's Healthcare and Biotech Sectors
Lauris Lambergs (moderator)
Co-founder & Chief Investment Officer at Renaissance Wealth Advisors Global
John Tully
Chairman of the Board at AmCham and Mikrotik
Janis P. Tupesis, MD
Faculty, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine; Associate Director, University of Wisconsin-Madison Global Health Institute
Vitālijs Skrīvelis
CEO of PharmIdea
Aiga Balode
Deputy State Secretary on Digitalisation and Change Management at the Ministry of Health
13:50 - 14:00Break
14:00 - 14:50Latvia's Power: The Needs and Policies for the Next 10 Years
Pauls Miklaševičs (moderator)
Chief Investment Officer at BluOr Bank
Reinis Āzis
Business Development Manager at VTTI B.V.
Viestarts Rutenbergs
New Business Lead Negotiator at TotalEnergies
Dmitrijs Juskovevcs
Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Member of Executive Board at Latvenergo
14:50 - 16:30
Events premises on Level 11 and Level 12
Networking time, closing remarks