The Latvian National Day will take place on 27 November at EXPO 2020 world fair in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its programme includes President of Latvia Egils Levits’ official reception, a Business Forum with the participation of Latvian entrepreneurs, bilateral meetings with potential business partners and a special cultural programme. Nauris Puntulis, Minister of Culture of Latvia, will also be part of the Latvian delegation.
The event will be opened by President of Latvia Egils Levits, who will make an opening address. During the ceremony, the flags of both Latvia and the UAE will be raised. The National Day will conclude the official visit of the Latvian delegation, during which our entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to visit the EXPO territory and the Latvian Pavilion, as well as meet potential business partners, continuing the negotiations started during thematic fairs and trade missions.
“The event will help draw attention to Latvia and our business environment. Investments, new connections, export markets, innovative and digital solutions – all of this will help our entrepreneurs and scientists turn their ideas into reality, show how competitive they are and reach out to potential customers that is normally hard to do. The Latvian Pavilion is a place or platform where our companies can meet new cooperation partners and where several agreements have already been concluded. I believe that this will make a great contribution to the country’s economy,” says Jānis Vitenbergs, Minister of Economics of Latvia.
The main event of the Latvian National Day will be the UAE-Latvia Business Forum, organised by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) in cooperation with the UAE Ministry of Economics. Business Forum live stream will be available on LIAA and Latvia Expo2020 Facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/events/483175309736080. In the evening, as part of the official reception of the Republic of Latvia, Intars Busulis and the Abonementa Orchestra will give a concert, and Latvian chefs will offer snacks made from Latvian-grown and manufactured products using local recipes.
“Most countries place emphasis on representing their culture on their official national days; however, our main focus will be on business, therefore the Business Forum will be our central event. We are also looking forward to signing a Memorandum of Cooperation between LIAA and the UAE International Investors’ Council. The purpose of the Memorandum is to promote the attraction of mutual investment and a mutual understanding of the investment environment in the UAE and in Latvia. Director General of LIAA Kaspars Rožkalns will present the sustainability of the business environment, infrastructure and startup ecosystem in Latvia, and the panel discussion The digital transformation into new normal, with the participation of Commissioner General for Latvia’s participation in EXPO Raimonds Lapiņš, as well as Latvian and UAE entrepreneurs, will be dedicated to explaining how to present sustainability and digital transformation through different industries. ‘Primex’, ‘Air Baltic’, ‘Squalio Group’ will be among the participants of the Business Forum,” says Inga Ulmane, Head of the Representation Office of the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) in the United Arab Emirates.
Almost two months have passed since the opening of EXPO, and this time has been very successful for Latvian entrepreneurs in Dubai: valuable contacts have been established, the number of visitors continues to grow, significant orders have been received for Latvian products offered at exhibitions and on the virtual stand.
“Our trade missions have been very successful, the entrepreneurs are satisfied with the interest shown by potential partners and customers, negotiations with the UAE and other countries are ongoing. Some of the entrepreneurs participating in the official visit of the President are returning to Dubai after previous successful visits. We truly hope that the Business Forum on 27 November will be an additional networking and experience-building opportunity, which will allow Latvia’s name to be heard, consolidate what has been achieved so far and will create new, far-reaching opportunities for cooperation,” says Inga Ulmane.
The EXPO 2020 world fair takes place from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. Additional information about Latvia’s participation in EXPO 2020 is available here: https://www.expo2020.lv/.