An interview with Valentina Andrejeva, State
Secretary of the Ministry of Finance of Latvia
In the middle of May the monthly Birojs 2000 ZINAS
was given an interview by Valentina Andrejeva, State Secretary for the Ministry of
Finance, who acts as Deputy Chairperson of the Supervisory Committee of the Organisation
of the EBRD Annual Meeting in Riga.
Earlier Mrs V. Andrejeva had also been appointed to the
Committee set up by the Ministry of Finance for evaluating perspective bidders applying
for the organisation of the EBRD Board of Governors' Meeting. Birojs 2000 won the
competition. We wanted to find out Mrs V. Andrejeva's opinion on how the preparation work
is being carried on.
What can Latvia gain by organising the EBRD Board
of Governors' Meeting?
Firstly, we shall be able to demonstrate our
achievements – we have done quite a lot lately, we have been given good credit rating,
there have been positive changes in macroeconomy and infrastructure. The leading European
bank officials, who are potentials investors, will arrive in Riga. Everything depends on
how well we shall run the Annual Meeting, how well we shall manage to present ourselves. I
think a positive prerequisite for prospective investment to Latvia is that the Meeting
will be organised not only on the Government level but our entrepreneurs will also be
given an opportunity to meet top level financial authorities and investors. The
reconstructed and upgraded buildings, which otherwise might lack in adequate funding, will
also be a great contribution to the rebirth of Riga. The budget capabilities are very
restricted but with the help of the EBRD we are sure to find some and this will be a great
contribution to the entire people.
What does Latvia look like in the European
context? Is this region attractive to investors?
I would have said an unambiguous yes a year ago
but the crisis in Russia has slightly changed the situation. Though the very fact that we
were able to successfully place the state securities abroad serves as evidence that Latvia
is still enjoying high prestige. We are considered more trustworthy than Russia.
Financially the situation in the country is not easy but we are doing our best not to ruin
our good image.
Why was it considered necessary to announce a
tender to choose the organisers of the EBRD Board of Governors' Meeting?
It is usual practise to choose the organisers of
international forums by inviting tenders. It was quite clear from the very start that none
of the ministry departments could be entrusted with it, since these people have to be
independent. The staff working under the auspices of the ministry would never be given a
free hand to do the task. Moreover, it is outside the scope of civil servants' duties. I
think this problem has been resolved very well.
To supervise the commitments undertaken by the
Latvian party in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government of Latvia
and the EBRD, the Supervisory Committee for the Organisation of the EBRD Board of
Governors' Meeting was set up. What are the principle trends of its activity?
The Supervisory Committee is engaged in management
co-ordination as there are plenty of issues relating not only to different ministries but
also to Riga City Council and other institutions. Therefore it is necessary to have a team
capable of co-ordinating all the arrangements at a high level. These have to be the people
capable of adopting decisions since there are a lot of issues of national importance, e.g.
issues related to budget matters. The budget of the EBRD Board of Governors' Meeting in
Riga has been discussed recently and the standpoint of each ministry was relevant because
all the costs had to be substantiated.
The organisation of the EBRD Meeting is being
conducted in close collaboration with the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry of Finance is in charge of Birojs 2000
activities to make sure that the funds allocated for the organisation of the Meeting are
used to the purpose. The funds allocated have been reduced to a minimum, which entails
careful planning of expenditure in order to have the work done.
What is the contribution of Latvian entrepreneurs
to the organisation of the Meeting?
On the one hand, our entrepreneurs are potential
sponsors. We are looking forward to those supporters who would be eager to invest their
financial resources in the event and advertise themselves in a special catalogue
highlighting Latvia or promote themselves during the activities taking place within the
framework of the EBRD Board of Governors' Meeting. On the other hand, some entrepreneurs
are going to receive a state procurement to ensure a wide range of services and repairs to
prepare for the Meeting. It would be nice if on representative occasions like this one we
could treat our guests to local produce. There are a lot of firms we could be proud of –
Laima, Staburadze, Uzvara and many others. Following tenders our construction
companies will receive state procurements, which means new jobs.
What seems to be the most difficult in the course
of the project implementation?
To my mind, the most difficult task will be to balance
the funds assigned by the state budget. I wish we could accomplish the project without
getting into debt. Notably, the system does work. We made the right choice regarding the
people assigned with the task of organising the Meeting. The team has been chosen rightly,
it consists of young people whose performance has been appreciated by the EBRD and Latvian
officials alike. Time is pressing badly. The most important thing is that everyone should
benefit from the Meeting and I can assure you they will.
* On 11 May Minister of Finance Ivars Godmanis approved
the Latvian Eurobond Issue Prospectus and signed the agreement on the issue of securities
with Credit Suisse First Boston, as well as with 10 banks, which procured the bonds
at 150 million euros.
