Our fifth Spotlight Latvia kicked off bright and early with LACC representatives (Lauris Lambergs, Jānis Bergs, and Kristine Vainovska Twidwell) followed by dignitary speeches from Viktors Valainis (Latvian Minister of Economics), Kaspars Melnis (Latvian Minister of Climate and Energy), Jānis Grasbergs (Vice Speaker of Latvia’s Parliament), and Ieva Jāgere (Director of Latvian Investment and Development Agency). A high-level panel then dove into the security current economic and security threats and opportunities that define the U.S.-Latvia partnership. This panel included one of the day’s most memorable moments when US Brig. General (RET) Rūdolfs Pēkšens spoke to the importance of preparation in regards to defense, given we are already in an active conflict. Breakout sessions followed, where attendees could choose between two key topics: a technical session focused on how artificial intelligence is being used to harden digital borders against attacks, while the other brought together defense leaders to discuss the need for shared weapons production in this day and age.
The afternoon featured several powerful keynote addresses from Valdis Dombrovskis, (Commissioner of The European Commission) on the European Union’s actions to further the economic security of its member states, including Latvia, Viktors Valainis (Latvian Economics Minister) speaking to the Latvian government’s investments in dual-use technologies for common defense, and Matthew Boyse (Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute) highlighting his own personal ties with Latvia and his views on the current political & economic situation in Latvia, Ukraine, and beyond.
LACC’s board members Liene Gaspažiņa and Ģirts Graudiņš presented the first ever Latvia-USA Business Report sharing success stories of Latvian businesses that are thriving in the American market. The afternoon breakouts continued the technical focus, with a panel of experts sharing insights on the latest defense drone technology and how this shift in hardware is changing military strategy, while another panel explored how securing sustainable power is key to stability and where new investment opportunities lie.
Discussions later in the afternoon concentrated on making critical infrastructure more resilient, from further developing the ports in Riga to continuous development of airports as well as a unique session focusing on the power of investing in Baltic economic growth. In the final hour, a dynamic session offered a comprehensive look at the future of our collective security. Bringing together representatives from academia, non-profit’s, private industry, and government made for an especially thought-provoking conversation leaving attendees wanting more. The formal part of the day concluded with a wrap-up of thank you’s and the presentation of the LACC Member of the Year Award as well as the inaugural Spotlight Latvia business awards. The day concluded with a reception, where everyone moved on to the happy hour to relax and make those final, key connections.
The feedback from this event has been overwhelmingly positive and we were so honored to have the largest attendance of any Spotlight Latvia event so far. Thank you to the many individuals who worked hard to make this event happen!
If you attended and haven’t had a chance to leave us your feedback as well as share about what you would like to see in future Spotlight Latvia events, please do so here! Plus through this link you can enter to win a free membership to LACC for the next year! 🙂
Here is a link to our Flickr to see more from the event.
View Spotlight Latvia media coverage (in Latvian)
