Viktors Valainis, Minister of Economics of the Republic of Latvia, has underlined the “huge untapped potential” in economic relations between Latvia and the United Arab Emirates, calling for a new phase of trade and investment cooperation built on three decades of diplomatic ties.
“Today we are celebrating 30 years of bilateral diplomatic relations between Latvia and the United Arab Emirates,” he told the Emirates News Agency (WAM).
Positioning Latvia as a strategic entry point into the European Union, Valainis invited UAE investors to consider the Baltic state as their platform for wider regional growth. “Anyone who wants global success can start from Latvia,” he said.
Valainis added that Latvian companies are collectively looking at up to €300 million in investments in Dubai alone, especially in food and related industries. “Latvia is the best gateway to do that,” he pointed to Latvia’s tax regime and business environment as a key advantage.
“Today we are not only looking for partnerships about where to sell our products,” he said. “We are looking for a new type of partnership. We want to build factories here in the United Arab Emirates, to produce products here.” He highlighted in particular the food industry and related sectors, where Latvian companies are ready to invest in new production lines within the UAE.
“The food industry is very open – not just to sell products, but to invest in new production capacity,” he said.
Reflecting on his visit, Valainis spoke warmly of the reception he and the Latvian delegation had received in the UAE and expressed optimism about the future of the relationship. “I have very positive feelings about the United Arab Emirates,” he said. “Almost 30 Latvian companies have accompanied me on this visit, from a wide range of sectors – construction, IT, biomedicine, energy, logistics and of course the food industry.”
On the institutional side, Valainis pointed to the third meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission, which he said had been “very successful”. “We identified new opportunities for cooperation in many different sectors,” he explained.
“Our construction companies, architects and other experts from Latvia are here to share their experience, especially in sustainable building and modern construction processes,” he said.
At the same time, he underscored Latvia’s credentials as a global leader in digital government and IT services. “Right now in Latvia, 97 percent of our public services are digital,” he said. “If you want to reach a single market of 450 million customers, you can simply do it from Latvia – and it is easy to access these markets.”
“We are ready to welcome investors and companies that want to produce global products from Europe,” he continued.
The minister described his current visit to the UAE as “extremely positive”, underpinned by intensive government-to-government and business-to-business engagement. “These meetings show there is a very strong will on both sides to increase trade volumes and investments,” he said. “Business leaders were closely involved, and today the Latvian Chamber and the Dubai Chamber signed an agreement on business cooperation.”
Valainis emphasised that the momentum in trade is being matched by a new wave of two-way investment. “We are now starting to see the first investment projects coming in both directions,” he said. “This is a huge development that has already started and shows how serious we are about long-term cooperation.”
“These companies are now ready to share their knowledge worldwide,” he concluded. “They are welcoming us here, and we are welcoming them in Latvia.”