On March 3, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs came to Liepaja for a one-day working visit. One of the goals of the visit was to discuss the current issues of the city and the region in the field of business.

The Minister got acquainted with the territory of the former bankrupt steel plant "Liepajas Metalurgs", which has been purchased by the Liepaja SEZ Authority and was introduced to further development plans of the territory. “Currently, the European Green Deal and the climate change related issues are priority tasks to be dealt by the EU Member States. The “Liepajas Metalurgs” plant could become a very good success story of how to transform a heavily polluted Soviet-era manufacturing facility into a modern resource-efficient, environmentally friendly, and circular economy-oriented industrial park – even more so - it would serve as a good example of how to develop degraded and abandoned industrial territories elsewhere in Latvia”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Further on, the Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs emphasized: “Even though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not directly deal with business support, one of its main tasks are investment and financial resource promotion for business needs, including those of the EU structural funds. It is of vital importance to spend the raised business support funds purposefully and thoughtfully considering the current business needs, opportunities, and requirements.”

Together with the Liepaja Special Economic Zone officials, the Minister also visited Caljan LSEZ SIA company, whose one of the best-known products are telescopic conveyors for postal shipments to such world-known companies as "Amazon", "eBay", "Zalando", "FedEx", DHL, "Hermes", "Michelin", "Adidas" and other.

“The Caljan LSEZ SIA new plant is a good example of what we want to see in the former territory of "Liepajas Metalurgs". There is something to compare with - on one side of the fence there is a modern plant, on the other side - a degraded industrial area. Five years ago, when the Memorandum of Intent on the “green” transformation of the territory of the former steel plant and establishment of the Liepaja Industrial Park was concluded, sustainable thinking was put into its "genetic code", clearly stating the fundamental principles of education, innovation, and circular economy. When developing an industrial park in line with the European Green Deal, we will need the state support and substantial financial resources", said the Liepaja SEZ Chief Executive Officer Uldis Hmiełevskis.