Mārtiņš Staķis, the mayor of Riga, Latvia is Mayor of Europe for January 2023 in the Inclusivity category.
Image: City of Riga

One of my top priorities is to make our city more open

Mārtiņš Staķis (1979, Tukums) has been the mayor of Riga since 2020. He graduated from the University of Latvia with a bachelor's degree in Economics and Business Management, and also did a management programme at the Helsinki School of Economics. After graduation, he was involved in a variety of business and media projects.

He became prominent in politics with the founding of the Movement For! party in 2017. Between 2018 and 2020 he was an MP at the Saeima (Latvian Parliament) for that party representing the Riga constituency.

Mr Mayor, what is the progress made by Riga in terms of becoming a more inclusive city since you’ve stepped in?

Riga is not isolated from the rest of the world, and one of my top priorities is to make our city more open. The city of Riga actively lobbied for the introduction of digital nomad visa regulation in the country. I am very glad that we were heard and now the Latvian parliament introduced this regulation. This means that professionals from abroad are more likely to start their lives in Riga.

For us to develop, we need a workforce, and that means also working with newcomers to our city. This means the integration of people in educational institutions and workplaces. This year, Riga is launching a program to co-finance the stay of talented specialists from abroad. An attitude that promotes human dignity, openness towards its residents, including newcomers, is what determines whether there will be professionals who want to live and work here.

How did the influx of Ukrainian refugees and welcoming them play into reshaping or updating the idea of the city as an integrative space?

There are a total of 40 thousand Ukrainian refugees in Latvia, of which half reside in Riga. This is around 3% of the city's population. Almost all refugees have received help at the Riga Support Centre for Ukrainian residents.

The refugee crisis was a huge challenge for Riga and the whole of Latvia. Latvia was not the destination for a large number of refugees until this war. This is related to both the geographical location and the fact that the standard of living is not as high as in Western Europe. The system for accepting a large number of refugees had to be created from scratch.

Riga showed leadership by creating a support centre for Ukrainian refugees (Riga Support Centre for Ukrainian residents). Refugees can receive services from the municipality, the state, and non-governmental organizations, all in one place. Job exchanges also work there so that Ukrainians can enter the labour market faster.

It is important that Ukrainian refugees are not thrown from one institution to another. Most services and information are grouped together at the refugee centre. This applies to visas, education for refugee children, social benefits, and donated goods.

During this crisis, the city has acquired extensive competences in the field of integration of newcomers. The main challenge is the state, municipalities, and the non-governmental sector learning to cooperate for a common goal. We have achieved this in the Riga refugee centre.

A lot of work has been done to make Ukrainian residents feel welcome in the city. Regular events in support of Ukraine and Ukrainian flags in the city are our way of saying – you can feel safe and accepted in Riga!

• Riga will host Russia’s main opposition TV channel
  
• Riga encourages the creation of private museums
  

Continuing with the global theme, what steps has Riga taken towards welcoming foreign investment and high-skilled labour?

To further intensify the attraction of investments and tourists to Riga, the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency was established less than a year and a half ago. Its main goal is to ensure sustainable and transparent promotion and attraction of investments and tourism to Riga. In fact, it is like a one-stop point for potential investors.

The agency is already working with investments in the amount of 1 billion euros. We are participating in the Choose Europe network to attract investment mainly from USA. 14 investment attraction agencies of European cities and regions have united in a unique project to strengthen Europe’s economy.

Any business that comes in requires talent to grow – ​​labour force, which is educated, professional and generally available. We are proud of Latvia’s talent pool. We have highly qualified workforce – almost 40% have higher education and more than 50% know at least two foreign languages.

As talent attraction is so important, the agency created the Work in Riga program and the Workcation program. Work in Riga is digital platform for talent from abroad with all legal and practical needed information. Workcation is program where we offer foreign companies to spend a week in Riga and learn more about the business opportunities in our city.

It is a chance to explore Riga’s investment environment in more detail and receive a tailor-made visit agenda that will include meetings with city leadership, business consultancies and key-opinion leaders relevant to your industry as well as company visits. The agency covers travel (airfare), accommodation and co-working space expenses.

How has the Latvian capital become more welcoming, accessible and inclusive to another important international group – the tourists?

Tourism has been a priority for Riga since joining the European Union in 2004. The city has invested a lot in promoting recognition in order to present Riga as an attractive destination for both leisure and business tourism.

In recent years, before the Covid pandemic, several new hotels of international chains opened doors in Riga. The total number of foreign tourists in 2019 reached 1.6 million. Riga's goal is to return the flow of tourists to the level it was before the pandemic by 2024. Now, we plan to increase number of tourists by 60% compering with before Covid period.

In the summer season, the city is a favourite and popular destination. Riga is mostly visited by individual travelers who choose it as a long holiday destination because of its beautiful architecture, quality food and entertainment.

Riga also has a rich cultural life. This year, for the first time, the international music festival "Positivus" was held here, as well as cultural and entertainment events, which were united by courage and joy, were held in the city throughout the summer. About 10% of all guests in Riga travel in organized groups and visit Riga as part of a trip around the Baltic States.

An important segment for Riga is also business tourism. We have introduced a new support program aimed directly at the organization of international associations conferences in Riga. It is the development of business tourism that will help reduce the impact of seasonality on the tourism industry in the future.

Author: Vincent Iolov

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