On Thursday, March 18th the Finance and Administration Issues Committee decided that this year on April 1st the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency will begin operations. The main goals of the agency will be to attract foreign investments to the capital, popularise Riga internationally and develop its tourism. The final decision on the agency’s formation is still to be made in by the Riga City Council.
Last October, when making a conceptual decision on the formation of the agency, Riga City Council Chairman Mārtiņš Staķis said that one of the main challenges in coming years will be attracting foreign investments, because right now there are no institutions in Riga working to open the capital to international business.
“Riga is becoming a city open to international business. Carefully attracting investments, as well as attentively cooperating with and welcoming current investors – no city can develop successfully without these qualities in the current global competition. That is why we are acting swiftly to strengthen and centralise the investment attracting capabilities in the Latvian capital. This decision will benefit Riga and our country as a whole!” – emphasises Staķis.
Up to this point tourism, brand management and investment attracting duties were delegated to various institutions of Riga City Council – the Foreign Affairs Office, the City Development Department and the Riga Tourism Development Bureau. It is therefore decided that it is appropriate to combine these tasks by delegating implementation to a single body, as this makes better use of administrative and financial resources and ensures greater efficiency in the performance of tasks, avoiding the potential risk of overlapping competencies.
The new institution is going to be an agency, because this legal form provides more transparency and clarity in decision making and project realisation. An open tender for the position of Riga Investment and Tourism Agency Director will be issued.
The Committee members have also approved regulations of the new institution, which stipulate that the agency will operate under the Riga City Council Chairman.
Published: 21.03.2021.
