Today FICIL’s Chairperson of the Board, Zlata Elksniņa-Zaščirinska, participated in the panel discussion, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within the framework of the conference on the future of the European Union and Latvia’s interests. The discussion was joined by Līga Kurevska, State Secretary of the Ministry of Climate and Energy, and Ingmārs Pūķis, LMT vice-president in marketing and business development. Zlata presented FICIL’s perspective on economic priorities and challenges for the coming year, emphasizing importance of competitiveness within the EU Single Market and Latvia’s role in this process.  

Zlata noted that the Latvian government should develop an elaborate economic growth strategy of the country to raise competitiveness within and beyond the EU. She pointed to the results of the FICIL Sentiment Index on investment attractiveness, which reflect high dissatisfaction of the foreign investors, due to geopolitical situation, rising costs and workforce challenges. In view of FICIL, an appropriate environment is essential for attracting investments, which requires a clear decarbonization and competitiveness strategy, reduction of the administrative burden and fair market competition. Zlata pointed out that a heavy administrative burden hampers the private sector development, fair competition and leads to higher business costs. 

During the discussion on Latvia’s economic growth strategy, Zlata reminded participants about the results of the FICIL High Council, which took place on 26-27th September this year. During the High Council the foreign investors together with the public sector officials developed a joint vision on economic development of the country, positioning Latvia as an innovation hub. “Latvia has the opportunity to establish itself as an internationally recognized innovation hub, where human resources, technology, sustainability, and social dialogue form a solid foundation for growth,” added Zlata. She emphasized the importance of making critical decisions fast, as time is essential for catching up during the global market competition.

To learn more, see the full recap.