🙌 On 14-15 May, President of Latvia Edgars Rinkevics paid an official visit to the Republic of Italy 🇮🇹, where he met with Italian entrepreneurs and representatives of universities at a round table discussion in Rome.
🇱🇻 Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics highlighted, "Latvia has much to offer to Italian companies. We focus on innovative, technology-intensive solutions to drive the development of #digital solutions and #greenenergy projects. Italy is already participating in the 🚅 RB Rail AS | Rail Baltica project and has the potential to become a strategic investor in other sectors such as #bioeconomy, #biomedicine, and #smartenergy. 🌱 Additionally, in our continuous support for Ukraine, we have established the Drone Coalition and are ready to collaborate with Italy on this initiative."
🔩 "The entry of Marcegaglia, Europe's leading metalworking and steel manufacturing company, into Latvia last year marked a significant step in economic cooperation between our two countries. 🤝 However, there is potential to expand collaboration into other sectors, including #technology, #transport, #finance, and more," stated Ivi Anna Buce, our Director of the Investment Project Department.
💼 In 2023, Latvia's total trade in goods and services with Italy reached €1.35 billion, making Italy Latvia's 12th largest foreign trade partner.
More 🔗 https://lnkd.in/dXqFm9hQ
#InvestinLatvia #MissionLatvia
Founder at Humans2Venus Foundation, Space Bridge Partners, Fortivo Music, Blue Marble Exploration
8moAfter two decades working in the US startup ecosystem, I spent the past four years living in Switzerland and pushing for innovation within its space sector. I completely agree that this country has immense potential to become a global leader in entrepreneurship and technology innovation (for many of the same reasons you clearly articulated). However, I also agree with your two fellow rail passengers that there are immense cultural issues to overcome (e.g., “we’re too conservative” and “failure isn’t an option here"). These are not unique to Switzerland, but they are nevertheless substantial obstacles. My recent experience is that Swiss entrepreneurs are top-notch and ready to take off, so now it is time for the Swiss investment, banking, and legal communities to get past their cultural barriers and create a more supportive environment (i.e., they need to become more comfortable with the risks associated with true innovation). This will be a difficult transition, but, as you most eloquently stated, it will merely require modern Switzerland to remember and embrace its rich cultural heritage of entrepreneurial vision and innovative thinking. For what it's worth, I'm extremely hopeful of a bright future for Swiss innovation!