Analytics, Business, EU – Baltic States, Interview, Latvia

Peteris Karlis Elferts

"It is logical that exporters wish to export their products to places where customers know these products," as Elferts said in an interview to LETA.

The new ambassador did not say though which specific market sectors would offer the best opportunities for Latvian businessmen. However, taking into account the large number of Latvian nationals currently living in Ireland, bilateral trade between Ireland and Latvia has been enhanced significantly, he said.

Elferts said that the first thing he would do after arriving in Dublin would be to meet with the Latvian organizations in Ireland. Elferts will bring the same message to the Latvians in Ireland as the President Valdis Zatlers did during his visit to Ireland last November – to take care of the economic situation in Latvia so that the Latvians in Ireland could expect the living standards in Latvia to be the same as in Ireland, when they eventually return.

"To bring people back to Latvia, slogans will not do. When the economic situation improves here, then people will start considering going back," Elferts believes.

The ambassador said that cooperation with the Latvian communities in Ireland will be important part of his job in Ireland, so the Latvians in Ireland could maintain their links to the homeland. Elferts, who was born in the United States, understands full well how important it is for the Latvians who have left their country. "I am wide open to cooperation [with Latvian organizations in Ireland]. It is highly important." Elferts went on to say, "I grew up abroad, and I know what it means to remain Latvian when everything around you is strange to you – the language and the culture."

Elferts also believes that bureaucratic obstacles that Latvian residents face when they wish to return must be removed. This must be done in cooperation with the Irish institutions, so Latvian residents upon return could receive the due social guarantees, for instance, pensions and unemployment benefits that they have earned in Ireland.

As reported, the President Valdis Zatlers presented letter of credence to Elferts on August 19.

According to LETA archives, Elferts was born in Seattle, United States, on June 29, 1961.

Elferts was elected to the 5th Saeima in 1993; he has worked as parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Transport and the Foreign Ministry.

Elferts was appointed as Latvian ambassador to the Council of Europe in 2004.