U.S. trade delegation concludes its significant visit

Latvian Trade Mission Yields Promising Results in US

From September 16 to 24, 2021, a Latvian trade mission embarked on a journey across three major American cities: Houston, San Francisco, and Denver. The mission, which involved the participation of 70 entrepreneurs, aimed to double trade turnover to EUR 1.9 billion over the next three to five years.

The mission kicked off in Houston, where the US company Air Products signed a significant contract with the Latvian Liepaja Special Economic Zone company GI Terminals. This agreement will see Air Products providing proprietary engineering solutions and equipment for a new sustainable aviation fuel production facility. The estimated annual output of this facility is a substantial 100,000 tons. KBR will also be a part of this partnership, providing additional engineering solutions, consultancy services, and support. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between KBR and GI Terminals, outlining this partnership.

During the visit, discussions on investments in sustainable energy, biomedicine, and infrastructure development were initiated. The Gastech conference in Houston facilitated these discussions, providing Latvian companies with the opportunity to explore the latest technologies and solutions for transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

In Houston and Denver, the Latvian delegation held numerous individual meetings and signed cooperation agreements. These agreements established partnerships between Latvian companies and major US corporations and technology giants, such as SAF Tehnika and TestDevLab.

In San Francisco, the Latvian business delegation met with major US technology companies. These meetings focused on EU regulatory challenges that have allegedly hampered their entry into Europe.

The visit by the Latvian delegation laid a strong foundation for future collaboration between Latvian startups, venture capital firms, and technology development funds in the US. Raivis Bremsmits, Director General of LIAA, stated that the mission delivered results and will bring back several high-potential investment initiatives from the US.

The goal of establishing an AI Centre of Excellence in Latvia, as suggested by LIAA, could attract international partners. This centre aims to nurture new talent, develop advanced AI solutions, and enhance the global competitiveness of Latvian companies.

In Denver, a key agreement for advancing Latvian energy development was signed between Latvenergo and the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This agreement will implement an energy transformation and industrial research project to model several Latvenergo investment scenarios, which will be used primarily to develop Latvenergo's investment strategy.

The Latvian trade mission concluded with the Latvia-Denver Business Forum, marking the successful completion of a mission that promises to bring about significant changes in the bilateral trade relations between Latvia and the US.