U.S. companies visit Riga

RIGA - Visiting U.S. businessmen, who were in Latvia to meet with local entrepreneurs and officials, are interested in developing the movie business and gaining access to the Russian rolling stock market via Latvia, Latvian Honorary Consul in California Juris Bunkis and GATX Corporation Financial Director Gokce Tezel said after a July 3 meetin, reports LETA.
Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis (Unity) predicted that the results of this visit will be seen during the next few months.
The prime minister added that the visit could result in U.S. investment, business contacts and new projects, which could be implemented in various sectors.

“The businessmen are actively working and establishing new contacts. I believe that the visit will lead to practical results,” said Dombrovskis. Bunkis in turn expressed hope that more movies could be shot in Latvia in the future.
Tezel said that the visit has been highly interesting for GATX Corporation and that he has gained very valuable information regarding various railway projects in Latvia. GATX Corporation is interested in the Russian rolling stock market, which is a new market for the company. According to Dombrovskis, the businessmen were interested in such sectors as: mechanical engineering, high technologies, IT and movies.

Representatives of Warner Bros., Procter&Gamble, Boeing and altogether 20 influential U.S. companies from IT, mechanical engineering, defense, aviation, construction, movie industry and other sectors arrived in Riga to learn about Latvia as an attractive business destination and discuss business cooperation opportunities.