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14/03/2023

Kempinski Grand Hotel
Riga (Latvia)

#LUinLATVIA

Background

On invitation of His Excellency Mr Egils Levits, President of the Republic of Latvia, His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg will travel to Latvia for a State visit on 13th and 14th March.

©Maison du Grand-Duc/Marion Dessard

Focus on economic ties and mutual business opportunities

A business forum has been organised by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in close cooperation with the Ministry of the Economy and the Luxembourg embassy in Warsaw (co-accredited in Latvia). The visit will also be accompanied by H.E. Franz Fayot, Luxembourg Minister of the Economy and a delegation of Luxembourg based companies and will focus on ICT, sustainable economy and the wood sector. Please consult our online brochure for details of participating companies.

Luxembourg and Latvia are strongly linked through a century of diplomatic relations. The intensification of their bilateral relations dates back 30 years, with the recognition of the Republic of Latvia by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, after the restoration of Latvian independence in 1991.

Not only similar in size, Luxembourg and Latvia are in the process of developing a circular economy strategy and are exploring opportunities for digitalisation leaving untapped potential which is being addressed by the agenda of the business forum.

Economic Landscape

Bordering France, Germany and Belgium, Luxembourg is the perfect gateway to Europe for innovative start-ups as well as for established companies wishing to expand their activities. Businesses can benefit from the country’s outstanding digital and top performing logistics infrastructure.

The Grand-Duchy offers an internationally pro-business environment, with easy contact with government officials and decision makers with grants and subsidies available to stimulate economic development. Luxembourg is recognised as a leading data economy with strengths in connectivity, data-processing capacity and cybersecurity as well as with a strong orientation towards sustainability. Read more.

Business Forum

The business forum will take place in

Grand Ballroom I & II, Kempinski Grand Hotel Riga on Tuesday 14 March

It will showcase the ICT and sustainable economy sectors in Luxembourg and allow for networking with potential business partners. Welcome speeches will be made by H.R.H Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, and H.E. Mr Egils Levits , President of Latvia. This will be followed by speeches from the respective Ministers  H.E. Franz Fayot, Luxembourg Minister of the Economy and H.E. Ms Ilze Indriksone, Latvian Minister of Economics. Full agenda details are below.

10.00-10.35h Opening Session
  • Welcome remarks by H.R.H. the Grand Duke of Luxembourg
  • Remarks by the President of Latvia, H.E. Mr Egils Levits
  • Speech of the Luxembourg Minister of the Economy, H.E. Mr Franz Fayot
  • Speech of the Latvian Minister of Economics, H.E. Ms Ilze Indriksone
10.35-11.10h Economic seminar on “Digital and Sustainable Economy”
  • Opening speech, Mr Carlo THELEN, Director General, Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce
  • Luxembourg’s economic strategy “Our Economy of Tomorrow”, Mr Christian TOCK, Deputy Director General for Industry, New Technologies and Research of the Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy
  • Latvia’s economic strategy, Mr Raimonds LAPINS, Deputy State Secretary of the Latvia Ministry of Economics
11.10-12.00 h Panel Discussions on “Sustainability in the Digital Age”
  • Intro/moderation by Ms Jenny HALLEN HEDBERG, Head of International Business Development at Luxinnovation
  • RigaMetacity Vision, Mr Toms ZUNNA, 5G Techritory, the Electronic Communications Office of Latvia, MetaCity Project Leader & Ms. Madara KALNMALE, 5G Techritory, the Electronic Communications Office of Latvia, MetaCity Project Leader
  • Digital Twin Project Luxembourg, Mr German CASTIGNANI, Digital Twin Innovation Center Manager of the LIST
  • Warden Machinery, Mr Mike KIRIUKHIN, CEO & Co-founder
  • Stugalux, Mr Joel SCHONS, Owner
  • Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, Ms Gunita KIESNERE, Architecture & Construction Program Director
  • Neobuild, Mr Francis SCHWALL, Director
  • Spacetime, Mr Shahriar AGAAJANI, Founder & CEO
12.00-13.30 h Networking Lunch in the hotel, Grand Ballroom II
13.30-16.00 h B2B Networking in the hotel, Grand Ballroom II
14.00-17.30 h EET – Breakout session on the wood sector for companies Room Andante & Allegro
  • Welcome and introduction
  • Presentations on selected Products & Services
  • B2B Networking

17.00 – 18.30h Breakout session for Universities and Innovation agencies

Registrations

Please register here to participate in the economic forum. Luxembourg and Latvian companies can also register to participate in the B2B sessions taking place in the hotel during the afternoon of 14 March.

Breakout session wood

A separate breakout session with focus on companies from the Luxembourg Wood Cluster who are interested in meeting relevant Latvian companies, learn about their products and discuss potential business partnerships will take place. The wood sector plays a key role in the Latvian economy and accounts for approx. 20% of the country’s foreign exports. Latvian timber exports that could be of interest to Luxembourg wood processing companies include sawn timber, construction timber and energy wood. Another focus of the sector is prefabrication lines in modular timber construction.

In parallel, and based in Luxembourg, the Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Luxembourg Wood Cluster is planning a workshop on the wood sector in Latvia on 14 March 2023 at 13.00 CET in the FEDIL offices at the Chamber of Commerce in Kirchberg.  With a virtual live link, Luxembourg companies will have the opportunity to have a direct exchange with Latvian companies in the sector to learn about their products and services. Programme details and link to register can be found here.

  • 13:15 – 13:30 CET: Welcome & Introduction
    • Ralf Köhler, Wood Cluster & Georges Schaaf, Sustainability Manager – Luxinnovation
    • Kristpas Ceplis, Latvian Wood Construction Cluster
    • Imants Martinsons, Green Tech Cluster Latvia

More Information

For questions, further information about the mission or to explore business opportunities, please contact

Ms. Georgia Kossmann
International Affairs Advisor, Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce
georgia.kossmann@cc.lu

For details about investing in Luxembourg, please contact

Ms. Jenny Hallen Hedberg
Head of International Business Development – Luxinnovation
jenny.hallenhedberg@luxinnovation.lu

For information about the wood cluster and opportunities in the wood sector, please contact

Mr. Ralf Koehler
Cluster Manager Wood, Luxinnovation
ralf.koehler@luxinnovation.lu

For information about Luxembourg’s startup ecosystem and startup opportunities, please contact

Mr Jonas Mercier
Startup Coordinator – Luxinnovation
jonas.mercier@luxinnovation.lu

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Bilateral relations between Luxembourg and Latvia

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