July 10th, 2025
Agenda
08:00 - 09:00
Registration and Coffee
09:00 - 09:50
Ziedonis Hall
Forum opening
Pēteris Blumbergs
President of the World Federation of Free Latvians
Edgars Rinkēvičs
President of the Republic of Latvia
Evika Siliņa
Prime Minister of the Republic of Latvia
Baiba Braže
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia
Andris Sprūds
Minister of Defence of the Republic of Latvia
Daunis Auers (moderator)
Host of the Forum, LU professor, Chair of the Board of LaSER think tank
09:50 - 10:05
Ziedonis Hall
Macroeconomic Overview, presentation
Mārtiņš Kazāks
Governor of Latvijas Banka
10:05 - 10:45
Ziedonis Hall
Aligning Local Strengths With Global Shifts – Latvia in a Changing World, discussion
Viktors Valainis
Minister of Economics of Latvia
Roberts Ābele
CEO of IONCOR
Jānis Lazda
Public Policy Manager, International Trade and Economic Policy at Meta
Diana Wagner
Partner and Portfolio Manager at Capital Group
Anete Pajuste (moderator)
Professor of Finance at SSE Riga
10:45 - 11:05
Coffee break
11:05 - 11:20
Ziedonis Hall
Investment Overview, presentation
Ieva Jāgere
Director General at Investment and Development Agency of Latvia
11:20 - 12:00
Building a Competitive Future for Latvia by Driving Strategic Investment and Export Growth, discussion
Fredis Bikovs
Managing Director at Riga Investment and Tourism Agency
Gunta Šulte
CEO at MADARA Cosmetics
Ģirts Graudiņš
Founder, BalticWay LLC
Agate Freimane
General Partner, co-founder of Norrsken VC
Mārtiņš Andersons (moderator)
President of the American Latvian Association
12:00 - 13:15
Lunch break
13:15 - 15:30
Breakout Sessions
Conference centre
Breakout Session 1
13:15 - 13:30Defence. Industry Overview, presentation
Elīna Egle
Chairperson of the Board of FSDI Latvia
13:30 - 14:15Latvia's Defence Architecture in 2025 and Beyond – New Projects and Core Goals, discussion
Andžejs Viļumsons
State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Andis Dilāns
Major General, Undersecretary of State for Logistics, Ministry of Defence
Beāte Krauze-Čebotare
CEO at AMMUNITY
Kristīne Bērziņa
Washington, DC-based managing director of GMF Geostrategy North
Uģis Romanovs
Chairman of the Board of Patria Latvia and Defence Partnership Latvia
Tomass Pildegovičs (moderator)
Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs on Security and Societal Resilience
14:15 - 14:30Break, option to switch rooms
14:30 - 14:45Start-up. Industry Overview, presentation
Ernests Jenavs
Chair of the Board at the Latvian Startup Association and Co-founder of Edurio
14:45 - 15:30Small Market, Big Wins: Latvia’s Start-up Ecosystem, discussion
Reinholds Pīrāgs
Chief Commercial Officer at HackMotion
Marija Ručevska
Co-founder and General Partner at Outlast Fund
Justīne Elferte (moderator)
COO, Longenesis
Conference centre
Breakout Session 2
13:15 - 13:30Medicine. Industry Overview, presentation
Hosams Abu Meri
Minister of Health of the Republic of Latvia
13:30 - 14:15Global Demand, Local Expertise: Latvia’s Role in International Medicine, discussion
Valts Ābols
CEO at Children's Clinical University Hospital, Latvia
Aleks Overbey
President, Ascension St. Vincent Fishers Hospital
Emil Syundyukov
Co-founder of SIA Longenesis, researcher in the field of health technologies
Zane Rēvalde
Founder and CEO of the Anti-Aging Institute; Head of several Veselības centrs 4 clinics and group companies
Vanda Dauksta (moderator)
Communications Trainer
14:15 - 14:30Break, option to switch rooms
14:30 - 14:45Manufacturing. Industry Overview, presentation
14:45 - 15:30The Future of Manufacturing in Latvia: Smart, Sustainable, Scalable, discussion
Uldis Sīpols
Honorary Consul, Republic of Latvia in Massachusetts
Imants Kīns
Chairman Critical Infrastructure Technologies, Honorary Consul for the Republic of Latvia in Western Australia
Sergejs Kostjucenko
CEO at Groglass
Toms Auškāps
Head of Communication and Business Development and Member of the Management Board at Balticovo
Līva Stūrmane (moderator)
Managing director at Latvian Exporter's Association "The Red Jackets"
Conference centre
Breakout Session 3
13:15 - 13:30Energy. Industry Overview, presentation
Roberts Ābele
CEO of IONCOR
13:30 - 14:15Latvia’s Energy Future: Where Investment Meets Innovation, discussion
Karlis Vasarajs
Executive Vice President at Valent Corp
Mihails Ščepanskis
Founder & CEO of Deep Space Energy
Māris Plūme
Co-Founder, COO at Saules Energy
Helēna Samodurova
Entrepreneur
Ilga Bērzkalna (moderator)
Board member and Development director at LPKS LATRAPS
14:15 - 14:30Break, option to switch rooms
14:30 - 14:45Artificial Intelligence. Industry Overview, presentation
Ēvalds Urtāns
Board Member of the Latvian Artificial Intelligence Association
14:45 - 15:30Getting Latvia Ready for the New World of Artificial Intelligence, discussion
Vitnija Saldava
Regional Public Policy Lead for the Baltics at Meta
Edgars Kalns
Deloitte Consulting San Francisco AI Technology Fellow
Vladimirs Murevics
CTO at sea.dev
Lauris S. Lambergs (moderator)
Co-President at Latvian American Chamber of Commerce
Conference centre
Breakout Session 4
13:15 - 13:30Human Capital. Industry Overview, presentation
Arkādijs Zvaigzne
Research Director, RTU RBS Education Innovation Laboratory
13:30 - 14:15Unlocking Latvia’s Human Capital Potential, discussion
Laura Ramane
Honorary Consul for the Republic of Latvia in Northern California
Evita Simsone
Director at State Employment Agency of Latvia
Tālis Juhna
Professor and rector at Riga Technical University
Liza Ateh
Head of Knowledge, Skills & Learning, Google.org EMEA
Anna Andersone (moderator)
Co-founder & CEO at StartSchool, Chair of the Board at Riga TechGirls
14:15 - 14:30Break, option to switch rooms
14:30 - 14:45Culture. Industry Overview, presentation
Agnese Lāce
Minister of Culture of the Republic of Latvia
14:45 - 15:30How to Export Latvia’s Excellence in the Arts to Other Fields, discussion
Sandis Voldiņš
Chairman of the board of Latvian National Opera and Ballet
Germans Ermičs
Founder & Designer at Studio Germans Ermičs
Tālis Reks
Co-Founder / CEO DreaMR Labs, Lab Manager at MIT.nano Immersion Lab
Gabriel Burkett
Design Director, Interiors at MillerKnoll
Zane Čulkstēna (moderator)
Founder of ERDA
15:45 - 16:15
Ziedonis Hall
Keynote
Matīss Kaža
Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning Latvian producer
16:15 - 16:20
Ziedonis Hall
Closing remarks
Pēteris Blumbergs
President of the World Federation of Free Latvians