The Minister of Foreign Afairs, Krišjānis Kariņš, was on an official visit to Japan this week accompanied by a delegation of Latvian businesses. While in Tokyo, the Minister met with a number of Japanese officials and the representatives of Japan’s business community with the aim of highlighting Latvia’s interest in larger investments from Japan.
During his visit, the Foreign Minister opened a Latvia-Japan business seminar, at which the Latvian business people presented their cooperation offers to Japanese businesses.
“Latvia and Japan are connected by shared values and an interest in safeguarding a rules-based international order. In view of the current positive experience, Latvia is interested in larger Japanese investments,” Krišjānis Kariņš emphasized at the opening of the seminar.
In addition to the Japanese business people were interested in closer cooperation in bioeconomy, pharmaceutical and electronic industry.
As part of his visit, the Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš met with the President of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Susumu Kataoka, and the Chair of the Committee on Europe at Keidanren, the Japan Business Federation, Makoto Takashima. At the meeting with the leadership of the two organisations, Krišjānis Kariņš outlined the priority of Latvia’s economy, invited Japanese businesses to invest in the largest infrastructure and energy projects, as well as develop small and medium sized manufacturing in sectors with high value added.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs met with the largest Japanese investors in Latvia – Mitsui & Co. (owners of Riga Universal Terminal, RUT) and Marubeni Corporation (co-owners of Conexus Baltic Grid). Krišjānis Kariņš thanked the companies and invited them to further expand their investments. Both corporations expressed satisfaction with return on their present investments and confirmed their interest in both Latvia’s energy sectors and its ICT and manufacturing industries.
The meeting revealed that both the existing and potential Japanese investors had a strong interest in Latvia's energy sector.
On his official visit to Japan, Krišjānis Kariņš was accompanied by representatives from SIA Regula Baltija, SIA AE Risinājumi, SIA Pelegrin, SIA Fortes, and SIA Baltic Motorsport Promotion. The visit of the business delegation took place with support from the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia.
Background information
As reported earlier, between 5 and 9 February 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Krišjānis Kariņš, was in Japan on an official visit. He met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Yoko Kamikawa; the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi; the Chair of the Latvia-Japan friendship group in the Japanese Parliament, Hirofumi Nakasone; and prominent Japanese business people. Krišjānis Kariņš also visited the U.S. 7th Fleet base in Yokosuka and delivered a gest lecture at the University of Tokyo.
