On 10 and 11 April 2025, the Ambassador-at-Large for Economic Security at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maija Manika, met with the Director of the Sustainable Development Policy and Coordination Department at the European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for International Partnerships, Luc Bagur, for a discussion on Latvia’s opportunities and benefits of engaging in the EC’s Global Gateway strategic projects. They include the offers of public and private investment with the aim of mobilising up to EUR 300 billion of investment globally between 2021 and 2027 to contribute to the following fields: the digital sector; climate and energy; transport; health; education and research. The goal of the Global Gateway strategy is to become a model instrument and a visibility brand for EU investment in sustainable development in various regions across the globe, thereby promoting a smart, clean and secure connectivity.
Maija Manika noted that Latvia sees it important that the private sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, gets involved in the implementation of the Global Gateway strategy: “It is essential that the EU, in the allocation of EU funding and in project implementation, balances its geopolitical interests and those of its partner countries in all regions important to the Member States, with a particular emphasis on the need for project development in the Eastern Partnership and Central Asian regions.”
As part of his visit, the EC official Luc Bagur also met with the Ambassador-at-Large, Director of the Latvian UN Security Council Campaign Task Force, Andrejs Pildegovičs, the Director of the Economic Relations and Development Cooperation Department, Egita Lase, as well as representatives from Latvia’s private sector, non-governmental organisations, and line ministries. Company leaders expressed their interest and readiness to make greater use of opportunities offered by the EU Eastern Partnership region, Africa, and Central Asia. In his answers to questions from the private sector, Luc Bagur called for actively following current developments and updates on how businesses can become part of the overall Global Gateway strategy. He underlined that companies from various sectors and of different sizes have opportunities to get involved in Global Gateway projects.
