The Foreign Investors Council in Latvia (FICIL) has told the LETA news agency that Latvia’s investment environment is better this year than it was last year. The statement was made on the basis of preliminary results from the Sentiment Index survey.
FICIL representatives met with Prime Minister Evika Silina on Wednesday to focus on three primary topics – protection and security, access to and development of human capital, as well as ways of cutting bureaucracy in Latvia.
FICIL board chairman Reinhold Schneider says that geopolitical challenges in the defence sector can be turned into business opportunities if the government has a clear and considered strategy and works quickly to seize such opportunities.
If foreign investors are to be attracted and retained, however, the government must continue its efforts to reduce bureaucratic burdens and to address labour market challenges.
FICIL has presented recommendations on how to improve the work of the Bureaucracy Reduction Task Force so as to enhance its effectiveness. The organisation has called on the government to highlight successful examples of the process so that confidence in the initiative can be enhanced.
Foreign investors who took part in the Sentiment Index study claim to have noticed an improvement in the investment environment this year, as against last year.
Schneider also notes that his colleagues are seeking closer co-operation among the Baltic States.
FICIL is organising a pan-Baltic event on May 26 to present the results of the study about the investment environment in the Baltic States. Expected attendees include representatives of all three governments, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, the Nordic Investment Bank, NATO and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Source: BNS
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