“The Foreign Service has integrated three political priorities and key objectives – security, economic growth and protection of people – into the work of each department, embassy, diplomat and Ministry division. Since my first day in a ministerial capacity, I have been applying a principle that the Foreign Service must provide active support to promote the country’s economic interests. The Foreign Service wants, and can make a significant contribution to the pursuit of Latvia’s economic interests abroad, working both in bilateral formats and within the framework of multilateral organisations,” the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, underlined in her address to participants at the Innovative State Capital Companies’ Initiative Forum on 13 November 2024.
“It is important for the government to be an enabler of innovation – including in small and medium-sized enterprises – by building partnerships, providing funding and the necessary infrastructure. Latvia is competitive internationally and the close cooperation between the state, including capital companies, SMEs and the academic community, can further contribute to that. As a small country, Latvia has the advantage of flexibility, which allows it to adapt and develop innovations relatively quickly. We need to make use of Latvia’s ability to rapidly develop and streamline processes in order to make the country a suitable environment for developing new solutions or co-developing them,” Baiba Braže noted.
The Minister referred to an excellent example – a cooperation project “Seamless 5G Connectivity in the Baltic Sea” between LMT” and LVR Flote, which won the Sustainability Award of the International Association of Ports and Harbours in the Digitalisation category this past 9 October in Hamburg.
In the context of Latvia’s digital health sector and its achievements, Baiba Braže highlighted the Latvian digital health start-up, Longenesis – it came first in Expand North Star 2024, the largest international start-up competition involving more than 1000 start-ups from all over the world. This is proof to globally competitive solutions being also developed in Latvia.
The Minister also underscored the achievements of the Latvian science sector, especially in the field of quantum, ICT and high technologies, which demonstrate Latvia’s capacity in research and development: “In research in the fields of quantum physics, smart materials, semiconductors and space, Latvia is a significant ‘magnet’ for international partners in search of advanced technological solutions.”
FACTS
- Latvia has global visibility in the field of quantum technologies in all of its three main directions:
(1) quantum algorithms (10% of the world’s quantum algorithms are based on those by Prof. Ambainis);
(2) quantum communications, in particular, the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC) and Riga Technical University; Prof. Juris Poriņš. Latvia has already built, and is about to launch its internal quantum secure communications network;
(3) quantum sensors: Tenure Prof. Mārcis Auziņš has engaged successfully in several NATO projects in this field. Tenure Prof. Vjačeslavs Kaščejevs is active in the field of quantum devices and coordinates a joint project of Latvian, German and French scientists.
- This year, at the QuantERA Strategic Conference in Amsterdam, with three projects represented, Latvia ranked first among the European countries as to the number of QuantERA project coordinators per GDP. The decision was based on data submitted by Latvia for the period from 2019.
- In early 2026, Latvia will host an internationally important QIP Conference on quantum information processing. The right to organise this conference was acquired by the University of Latvia in an open global competition.
- The Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia, has launched work on a Euopean project, “Towards an Excellence Centre on Quantum Photonics in Latvia (ToEQPL)”, in a partnership comprising the University of Latvia, Riga Technical University, the University of Trento (Italy), and the University of Technology of Troyes (France).
- First students in new study modules dedicated to quantum technologies prepared in Latvia. This is an important contribution to the future of quantum technologies in Latvia.
- Latvia’s ICT and high-tech sectors (especially electronics and photonics industries) are highly valued globally –due to both quality of service and novelty: SAF Tech, Microtik, Aerones, light Guide Optics, ISP Optics, MiraMotion, Tilde, LMT, SPH Engineering, among others.
- Latvia is currently preparing for the introduction of 6G and deeper cooperation with our Allies/U.S. based on 6G principles: integrated security, openness and resilience.
- Latvia stands out in the high-tech world, especially in the electronics and photonics industries. Our strong educational and research environment in sectors such as smart materials, optical solutions and photonics fuels opportunities for collaboration even at the level of global technology.
Further information
About the LMT and LVR Flote cooperation project “Seamless 5G Connectivity in the Baltic Sea:
