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The meeting of the Council was a preparatory element for the meeting of the Ukrainian-Latvian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Industrial, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. It was attended by Oleg Nemchinov, Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Chairman of the Ukrainian part of the Commission, Edmunds Valantis, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of Latvia, Olexandr Mischenko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Latvia, Andris Bite, President of the Confederation of Employers of Latvia, more than a hundred business representatives from both sides. Co-organizer from the Latvian side was the Confederation of Employers of Latvia.
The parties discussed infrastructure projects in Ukraine in the context of post-war reconstruction, cooperation on Ukrainian exports by rail to Latvian ports, participation of Latvian capital and the EU in the development of social housing for Ukrainians who lost it because of the war.
LDDK president Andris Bite emphasized at the opening of the meeting:
"Russia's aggression threatens not only the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. It threatens the whole of Western civilization – our way of life and the values we hold dear. Ukrainians defend not only the peace, freedom and security of their country. Ukrainians are fighting for peace, freedom and security throughout Europe. Ukrainians defend the basic principle that people are equal and have the right to choose their future. Since the first day of the war in February 2022, LDDK members have provided all possible support and assistance to Ukraine, and we will continue to do so in the future."
A. Bite also emphasized the need for a single access point to information where businessmen from both countries can find cooperation partners.
Oleg Nemchinov informed his Latvian colleagues about the special platform for foreign investors Advantage Ukraine created by the Government of Ukraine. Also, according to him, there is a great interest in the development of joint energy infrastructure of Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic States. This concerns not only power grids, but also regasification of liquefied gas, construction of LNG terminals, etc.
Edmunds Valantis supported his colleague and noted that Latvia had been one of the first countries to refuse from Russian gas and was currently transferring generators for the needs of critical infrastructure to Ukraine.
"Yesterday, we signed an agreement on the transfer of transformers with a capacity of 110 kilowatts for Khmelnytskyi region," he said, "We are also ready to support in the sphere of construction, export/import, this work has been going on for a long time.
"Ukraine has been, is and will continue to be an important cooperation partner for Latvia in the future. Despite the current war situation, trade turnover between our countries has even increased this year. Latvia - from the government to civil society and companies - has provided substantial support to Ukraine and its people since the first day of the war. In the future, we are also ready to get involved in supporting Ukraine, we are ready to share experience in various fields to speed up Ukraine's reconstruction and progress towards EU membership," emphasized Mr Edmunds Valantis, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Latvia, during the meeting.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Latvia is ready to participate in the process of restoration of Ukraine in Chernihiv region.
"Latvia is committed to participate in the reconstruction process of Ukraine in the Chernihiv region. Already now, in cooperation with Ukrainian institutions and Latvian businessmen, we provide support to ensure preparation for winter in the Chernihiv region. The reconstruction process must be based on Ukraine's needs. We are currently working on the next steps to ensure our continued engagement, including in collaboration with civil society and the private sector.” Egils Jelme said from Department of Economic Relations and Cooperation Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia.
Anatolii Kinakh, President of Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, spoke about the involvement of the business union in the projects of reconstruction of social infrastructure facilities in Kyiv region, which were launched by Lithuania. This is not the first experience of cooperation with Vilnius, earlier (in 2021) a school in Avdiivka (Donetsk region) was reconstructed. A similar one can be started with Latvia.
"We see your interest in rebuilding Chernihiv region, it is possible to extend these efforts to other regions affected by Russian aggression. Involvement of structured business organizations, NGOs in projects can become part of public-private partnership. We will submit our proposals through the Embassy of the Government of Latvia", - Anatolii Kinakh said.
Ambassador Oleksandr Mischenko told more about the assistance of Latvia. According to him, this country is among the leaders in providing military assistance to Ukraine (in terms of its own GDP). Wounded Ukrainian servicemen are undergoing rehabilitation here, the country has also accepted 41 thousand refugees, 18% of whom have found jobs.
The priority now is the certification of Ukrainian goods according to EU standards, because both Latvia and other EU countries are ready to promote domestic exports in every possible way. Another direction is the relocation of defense industry enterprises that can establish production without the constant threat of shelling by the aggressor.
Latvia's support in various forms of Ukrainian-Latvian cooperation and investment activities was presented by Ainars Mežulis, Head of the Representative Office in Ukraine of the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA).
Presentations were made by the Partnership of Latvian Constructors, SCHWENK Latvija (manufacturer of building materials), Bauroc Ltd (manufacturer of concrete building products).
From the Ukrainian side, the director of the UaRenew project Valeriy Guzhva informed the audience about the project of housing construction for internally displaced persons and persons who lost their homes as a result of hostilities.
"It should be a complex - a district or a small settlement - with its own infrastructure. Wells, heating plant, etc. It is designed for the Kyiv region and is designed for 200 houses. It should be understood that thousands of families across the country need such housing," says Valeriy Guzhva.
Tetiana Osypchuk, co-founder of Dnipro Association K LLC, spoke about the use of biotechnology in construction, waste disposal in agriculture, and Oleksandr Doinikov, managing partner of ViteoHemp, spoke about innovative eco-products and technologies from Ukraine (based on the processing of hemp raw materials).
Concluding the meeting, ULIE President Anatolii Kinakh noted that all proposals and results of the discussions will be included in the materials of the Intergovernmental Commission. Also, if interested, the business of Ukraine and Latvia can establish working contacts using the ULIE platform.