On March 3, during his official visit to Daugavpils, the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Latvia, Arvils Ašeradens, praised the municipality’s performance in implementing projects co-financed by EU funds, organizing the network of educational institutions and developing the business environment. On this day, there was also a discussion with the leaders of Latgale municipalities and one of the international companies working in the city was visited.
The minister’s visit began in the municipality of Daugavpils, where he was given an insight into the economic profile of the city, the impact of inflation and the political economic situation on the development of the region. Special attention was paid to the IT sector, manufacturing industry, and the activities of international companies in the region. The projects co-financed by EU funds implemented in Daugavpils were discussed in detail, including municipal public transport development projects, as a result of which the Daugavpils bus fleet is deservedly considered one of the most modern in the Baltics, as well as the tram infrastructure has improved significantly. The prospects for the development of the ALTOP industrial park, as well as the operation of the city’s school network and the arrangement of the infrastructure, were discussed separately.
A. Asheradens praised what has been done in Daugavpils and how the city organizes activities in various fields, even in the conditions of the difficult financial situation in the country as a whole: “In the ministry, looking at the data for Daugavpils, we pleasantly noted that the number of jobs is increasing. The average salary is also increasing: it is not significantly behind the rest of Latvia. And companies are coming in. What we are seeing are good signs of development. It would be important for us to agree and understand what to do with the industrial zones. We discussed the new industrial park. What is also pleasing is the service sector, such as IT, or manufacturing with high added value. Let’s see what we can do to support these things. Education is also extremely important: the city has a fairly well-organized school network, but new infrastructure is needed. This is already the question of the Ministry of Finance: how to find investments so that school infrastructure can be supported. This is what we are currently working on in the ministry”.
The visit continued in the planning region of Latgale, where they discussed the situation on the border with the chairmen of Latgale municipalities, the possibilities of improving the financial equalization mechanism, various tax policy issues, the payment of social benefits as a mandatory function of municipalities and the increase in the wages of specialists, as well as other issues that are topical and painful for the region.
After the discussion, the LPR was followed by a visit to the international company SIA “Pulsar optics”, where they discussed the possibilities of financial support for manufacturers of strategic goods, the situation in the international import market, support for the training of engineering and programming science specialists in Daugavpils, as well as the development of the city’s infrastructure for housing specialists.
Looking back on the visit, Andrejs Elksniņš, chairman of Daugavpils state city municipality pointed out: “We have outlined for the minister the main development directions of Daugavpils, which we see despite the difficult economic situation in the country. We have a vision of how to improve the economic competitiveness of our city and promote its development. But it is extremely important that it finds support at the government level. Let us be heard and heard. Currently, as a result of the coincidence of several factors, all municipalities of Latgale are on the verge of survival. But we want to live, not survive. We are in no way worse than the capital city and its nearby municipalities. Therefore, we will continue to insist on working to make the state policy in terms of financial distribution more favorable to the regions and their residents.”
Information prepared by:
Daugavpils state city municipalities
Department of Public Relations
Tags: Daugavpils signs good development
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