During the ongoing trade mission to the US, President Edgars Rinkevics, Minister of Economics Viktors Valainis, and the Latvian delegation met with global technology leaders Meta, Google, and Groq on September 19. In discussions with company executives, the Minister of Economics underscored Latvia's strengths in attracting investments and the government's commitment to fostering the development of artificial intelligence (AI) projects. Latvia is also well-positioned to contribute to digital infrastructure efforts, such as creating data centers and connectivity solutions, where the availability of green energy will be a critical factor.
"In discussions with major technology companies, there is a clear and strong interest in expanding cooperation with Latvia. We have identified several issues that need to be addressed at the national level and within the European Union's policy-making framework to ensure that large US-based companies like Google and Meta can soon view Latvia as their regional development hub," noted V. Valainis.
Executives from US technology companies highlighted the challenges posed by EU regulations, which have hindered their broader entry into Europe. In this context, Latvia's plan to establish an AI Center of Excellence could be a key factor in attracting international partners. The center's objectives will be to promote talent development, create local AI solutions to enhance companies' international competitiveness and establish global collaboration networks with industry leaders.
Google is already implementing a comprehensive support programme for small and medium-sized enterprises, "Grow with Google," in cooperation with the Ministry of Economics and the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA), and also supports the Riga Tech Girls initiative. Discussions with Google's leadership also explored the possibility of establishing a testing base in Latvia for the autonomous vehicle project Waymo, where suitable infrastructure can be offered for its development. The next step identified is expanding collaboration in the AI sector to integrate the latest technologies into society and the economy. Currently, only 4.5% of companies in Latvia use AI solutions, but the goal is to increase productivity by expanding technology adoption.
