 | Dear colleagues and friends! In this day and age, when globalization prevails, the role of cities in the development of national economies rapidly increases. Metropolises attract investment, and are the centers of industry development and active trade. Consequently, metropolises and their regions function as economic engines. Today, the Baltic Sea Region is one of the most rapidly developing regions in the world and the issues related to the attraction of investment are becoming of the highest importance. In order to have a vision of the development tendencies and investment possibilities in the Baltic Sea Region, may I invite you to attend the International Conference „Riga Forum 2006: Investment in the Baltic Metropolitan Regions” in Riga on August 24 – 25, 2006. |
The conference will outline important issues such as creating competitive city image, promotion of the city infrastructure development, exchange of experience in the field of investment attraction, and cooperation of academic, public and business sectors in implementation of investment projects. The conference will bring together investors, financial institutions and real estate companies from different countries of the world, as well as entrepreneurs, state and municipal employees and media representatives of the Baltic Sea Region. Promotion of information exchange on investment policy in the real estate market, transport and logistics, and information technology systems is important for shaping the city development practices in the Baltic Sea Region in accordance with the best international standards. I am assured that this conference and its workshops will present explicit answers to the questions you may have and provide an excellent opportunity to share ideas and plan for our common future cooperation projects. Aivars Aksenoks,
Mayor of Riga  | Dear entrepreneurs, investors, businessmen, Dear state and municipal employees, There is much consensus today on the key characteristics of a “sound investment climate”. A more pertinent question seems to be: how can we achieve that in practice? Policy makers have already looked for different ways of attracting investors through measures such as the special economic zones, tax concessions and outright subsidies. Flexibility and diversity of the new member states of the EU may have made the Baltic region one of the most attractive destinations for investments. However, more still need to be done to strengthen the efforts to attract foreign investments in a coordinated manner that would be beneficial to the whole region and not just a part of it. |
In order for you to have a better understanding of the most current development tendencies and investment possibilities in the Baltic Sea Region, I warmly invite you to attend the International Conference „Riga Forum 2006: Investment in the Baltic Metropolitan Regions” in Riga on August 24 – 25, 2006. The conference will outline important issues such as creating competitive city image, promotion of the city infrastructure development, exchange of experience in the field of investment attraction, and cooperation of academic, public and business sectors in implementation of investment projects. The conference will bring together state and Municipal employees, foreign investors, top executives from investment companies, real estate companies, and financial institutions to compare experiences, learn from best practices, and forge new links in cross-border investing. We hope to provide you all with an outstanding opportunity to better understand the market's status, direction, and possibilities, exchange information on investment policies in the real estate market, transport and logistics, and information technology systems. And we hope that the highly interactive approach of the conference will enable you to share thoughts and opinions on the most important issues of the day together. I look forward to seeing you in our host city Riga at the end of August! Sincerely, Artūras Zuokas Mayor of Vilnius  | Dear colleagues and partners, Baltic countries are often viewed as a single region, especially from a further distance. Indeed, there are many similarities, such as high growth rates and substantial inward investment flows. The three capitals – Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn are also the most important economic hubs of the respective countries. However, combining our different strengths and advantages makes pan-Baltic dimension even more attractive to investors. Investment attraction is not limited to favourable economic policies, investment incentives or advertising. It involves many more elements including place marketing, which first and foremost means location development based on a very long term perspective. One can, thus, say that Riga Forum 2006 is an investment development conference aimed at decision makers in businesses, municipalities and national governments. |
Exchange of information and contacts is vital for both investors and public servants. BaltMet Invest – a joint project of the three Baltic capitals has been focusing on the collection and analysis of investment related information in our cities. We are happy to share this information with you. We welcome the investors and investments that help us in solving urban problems in a sustainable way, enable to improve the quality of living and create higher value-added jobs in our cities. Wishing Riga Forum 2006 every success, Jüri Ratas
Mayor of Tallinn | |
