Members of Labor Force work group meeting discussed plans for 2020, event on the topic of integration of international talent into local community, introducing legal training requirement for employers and session on labor force issues at the Pan-Baltic Meeting of AmChams.

90 members and guests enjoyed the new production of THE QUEEN OF SPADES by Pyotr Tchaikovsky along with a kick-off reception at the Grand Hotel Kempinski Riga, an insightful lecture about the opera and its composer by Sasha Kelberg, CEO of GroGlass and former Board member of AmCham and a small reception at the Red Hall of the opera house.

AmCham members were eager to meet the new LIAA Director who shared his priorities: ways to increase import and export from and to the U.S., active marketing of Latvia's strengths. Priority sectors for investment attraction to Latvia include: GBS, Smart Materials, Life Sciences, Smart City development. LIAA will also work on producing a relocation guide to help attract foreign and remigrant talent.

On February 7, Santa Purgaile, Head of FCMC addressed AmCham members on recent developments in the financial sector. Substantial work has been done to restore the reputation of the Latvian financial sector, however, much remains to be done to support the sector, including developing capital markets and introducing new technologies. Among key FCMC tasks is communication, both international and local, to minimize negative impact on investors willing to do business in Latvia.

Healthcare work group members gathered for the first meeting of the year to continue work to improve the healthcare system. The Working group discussed its projects: workshop on the Oncology data registry, data-driven healthcare conference and a proposal of value-based healthcare developed by professor Liliana Civjāne from the University of Latvia.