On July 2, AmCham members met with Jekabs Straume, the Chief of Anti-Corruption Agency (KNAB) of Latvia. Mr. Straume presented the current priorities of KNAB and discussed how the private sector can assist tackling corruption. Presentation is available here

Over 20 representatives of 5 foreign chambers had an opportunity to join a discussion about health tourism and learn about related activities of LIAA and Latvian Health Tourism Cluster. Ensuring trust and obtaining high quality international standards were mentioned as the next essential steps to succeed in promoting Latvia as a prominent healthcare and medical tourism destination.

AmCham launched its position on talent attraction outlining recommendations on attraction and retention of talent in order to tackle labor shortage. Our position is structured in two priorities: promoting Latvia as an international career destination and developing skills to reduce labor market mismatch. We believe companies in Latvia can benefit from hiring international talent, well-fit to explore foreign markets thanks to their language skills, business knowledge and intercultural abilities.

Ambassador Pettit shared a short retrospective of her four-year tenure in Latvia with over 50 members and guests during her special farewell luncheon. Further strengthening of the defense sector, reduction of shadow economy and combating corruption were mentioned as key priorities for Latvia going forward.

This was perhaps the most exciting Business After Hours ever. Thanks to our host Encompass Digital Media Latvia, members had an opportunity to visit LNT studio and try out the role of a news anchor and a weatherman. The event also included a tour around the Encompass office and its channel control room, a presentation about the latest trends in the global media landscape and great networking!