EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Investments, Latvia, Markets and Companies, Tourism

Valdis Dombrovskis and Lee Myung-bak. Seoul, 9.06.2011. Photo: flickr.com

Last year, the trade volume between both countries grew 18% and reached USD 105 million with plywood being Latvia's main export commodity, reports LETA.

Currently, the Latvian plywood is being used in the manufacturing of liquefied natural gas tankers, the newspaper reports.

Dombrovskis pointed out that relations between Latvia and South Korea are rapidly developing and several high-ranking officials' visits are planned in the near future.

The sides agreed that, even though Latvia and South Korea are thousands of kilometers apart, there is a significant potential in economic cooperation between both countries.

The Korean Importers Association (KOIMA) and Dombrovskis expressed interest in promoting cooperation in food production, pharmacy and engineering.

With the Korea-European Union free trade agreement signed, Dombrovskis predicts that the distance between Latvia and South Korea and the lack of direct connections will remain the main challenge for cooperation between both countries.

Dombrovskis admitted that he understands that it is difficult to convince Korean tourists to visit only Latvia, therefore the premier is also meeting with industry professionals to promote Latvia together with other Baltic states, Nordic countries and St. Petersburg as tourism destinations.

The premier emphasized that Latvia provides advantageous conditions for foreign investment, competitive labor force and beneficial geographic location, offering new opportunities in Russia, the Baltic States and the EU's northern region.

Continuing his visit to South Korea, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis (Unity) had a meeting with representatives from four largest Korean business associations in Seoul today, urging Korean businessmen to make use of the invest opportunities in Latvia, a country that is becoming increasingly attractive to foreign investment.

Dombrovskis and a delegation of Latvian businessmen accompanying the premier met with representatives from the Federation of Korean Industries, Korean International Trade Association, Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Korean Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises to discuss intensifying economic cooperation between the businessmen in both countries.

Korean companies have already acknowledged the advantageous geographical location of Latvia, providing access to Western and Eastern markets, as well as the country's attractive investment environment and quality and competitive workforce, but Dombrovskis believes that the full potential of Latvian-Korean cooperation is yet to be achieved.

The business environment in Latvia also continues to improve – Latvia is ranked 24th in the World Bank's 2011 study "Doing Business", said Dombrovskis, adding that one of the goals of Latvia goal was to adopt the euro in 2014. Latvia is becoming increasingly attractive to investment, said the premier, encouraging Korean businessmen to make use of this.

Also today, Dombrovskis and the delegation visited Samsung Electronics.

The Latvian delegation also took part in a reception organized by the Latvian Consulate General in Korea.

During the Korea visit, Dombrovskis is accompanied by a business delegation that includes representatives from sixteen companies: tourism companies TAS Baltics, Baltic Travel Group, Your Run and Riga Tourism Development Bureau, wood processing companies Latvijas Finieris, Dendrolight Latvia, Dores Fabrika and Smiltene Impex, companies SAF Tehnika, Silvanols, ABEDD Baltic"and RRB Project, as well as the freeports of Riga and Ventspils.