The information was translated using the ChatGPT service.
At the Cabinet of Ministers' meeting on June 13 this year, the proposal of the Ministry of Economics was supported to allocate an additional 3.1 million euros to the support program implemented by the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) for the promotion of international competitiveness of enterprises, reallocating funding from other EU fund programs where it remained unspent.
The war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia and Belarus have shaken global markets and left an impact on the world economy. The impact on European, especially Eastern European, countries, including Latvia, is greater. The main channels of economic impact are through higher raw material prices, weakened sentiment, and reduced trade volumes with Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Given the current foreign policy crisis situation and sanctions against certain Eastern countries, it is essential to support market reorientation and business project implementation to prevent market downturns. At the same time, the Ministry of Economics has concluded that, under the current economic circumstances, it is particularly important for businesses to receive support for entering external markets in order to find new cooperation partners and conclude new agreements.
The additional funding for international competitiveness activities is reallocated from the employee training program (1.5 million euros) and the production space and infrastructure creation program (1.6 million euros). Support for merchants will be available until the end of June this year.
The Latvian Investment and Development Agency has informed that, in total, by March 1 this year, support in the amount of 30.7 million euros has been provided to entrepreneurs under the "Promotion of International Competitiveness" (business) program, including, in the last five months from November 2022 to the end of April 2023, 1,112 companies have submitted requests for support. Funding for enhancing international competitiveness can be drawn upon for various export activities. Within the framework of the support program, up to 80% of eligible costs can be obtained for participation in exhibitions and trade missions, factory and product certification, product or service marketing, and other activities. Entrepreneurs most often use support for participation in international exhibitions (23% of applications), 15% for certification to adapt to foreign markets, and 14% for participation in digital platforms. Additional information about the support program for the promotion of international competitiveness is available on the LIAA website: https://www.liaa.gov.lv/lv/programmas/skv-uznemejdarbiba
Details of the amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers' December 1, 2015, Regulation No. 678 "Operational Program "Growth and Employment" 3.2.1. specific support target "Increase the proportion of high value-added product and service exports" 3.2.1.2. measure "Promotion of International Competitiveness" and 13.1.1. specific support target "Recovery measures in the economic sector" 13.1.1.3. measure "Recovery measures in the economic sector – Promotion of International Competitiveness" implementation regulations"" can be found in the Legal Act Project Portal.
