VZCZCXYZ0012
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRA #0040/01 0221556
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221556Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY RIGA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6251
INFO RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 1173
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS RIGA 000040 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EEB/CBA (DENNIS WINSTEAD) AND EUR/NB 
STOCKHOLM FOR SCO CARRICO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD BEXP EINV LG
SUBJECT: RIGA'S FY2010 BFIF PROPOSALS 
 
¶1. Summary:  Embassy Riga welcomes EEB's effort to support non-FCS 
post business promotion and commercial training activities through 
the Business Facilitation Incentive Fund (BFIF) and proposes three 
FY2010 projects: travel and registration for the Commercial 
Specialist to attend the Electric Power 2010 trade show in Baltimore 
MD, May 18-20, which is included in the International Buyers 
Program; purchase of display materials and fees to establish U.S. 
presence at trade shows taking place in Latvia; and participation of 
Commercial Specialist in the FSI training course "Coal and Power" in 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 19-23. End Summary. 
 
¶2. Embassy Riga has already been contacted by the BFIF coordinator 
regarding regional training on CS activities.  As this training is 
already being planned, it is not included in the following 
proposals.  As a non-CS posts that has not received payments for 
commercial activities already undertaken under the State-Commerce 
MOU, Embassy Riga has not had funding to cover basic commercial 
activities such as attending trade shows.  The current commercial 
specialist has never participated in a trade show and we hope to use 
BFIF funds to introduce him to this vital element of commercial 
activity. 
 
------------------------- 
IBP TRADE SHOW ATTENDANCE 
------------------------- 
 
¶3. Proposed Project 1:  The ELECTRIC POWER 2010 trade show is a 
major energy event which in 2010 will be co-locating with 
FuturePOWER, an industry-wide event on innovative power solutions. 
The show has been included in the International Buyers Program and 
post is already beginning recruiting potential delegates in the 
local energy community.  This show is part of the International 
Buyer Program. Sweden and Latvia have chosen this show for regional 
promotion and both will feature the show on their websites, 
coordinate promotional efforts, but do their promotions separately. 
Commercial specialist from Riga will assist both Swedish and Latvian 
delegates during the show and will be prepared to brief interested 
parties on both markets. 
 
A) Justification:  Travel to the trade show by the Commercial 
Specialist would allow him to learn about U.S. power product 
producers, brief them about business and investment opportunities in 
Latvia's energy sector, and develop a better understanding of major 
IBP trade show operations. Opportunities in this sector should 
expand dramatically in coming years as Latvia is aspiring to attain 
greater independence from foreign energy resources and expand its 
energy portfolio.  Projects on the horizon include construction of a 
solid fuel (coal plus biomass) power plant,improvement of current 
electricity grid, upgrading of existing power generating units among 
other renewable energy related projects. Promoting energy security 
is also part of the Mission Strategic Plan. 
 
B) Impact: The Government of Latvia is planning to announce a tender 
for the Coal fired power plant in the middle of 2010.  The timing of 
the show would offer a good opportunity to connect U.S. firms to 
this process.  In addition, increasing commercial specialists 
understanding of trade show operations will improve post capacity to 
maximize impact of future IBP shows, whether simply recruiting or 
attending himself. 
 
C) Planning Milestones: 
 
January 2010: Post begins recruiting delegates from local energy 
industry. 
 
March 2010:  BFIF money is awarded. Potential attendees sign up for 
the show. 
 
May 2010:  Travel to Baltimore, MD to attend the Show. 
 
D) Estimated Costs:  Transportation: USD 3000, Hotel, Meals and 
Incidental Expenses: USD 1400, Ground Transportation USD 100.  Total 
Requested: USD 4500. 
 
E) Point of Contact:  Political/Economic Officer Matthew 
Stokes,phone: 371-6703-6287, fax: 371-6782-0047, email: 
stokesmr@state.gov, Commercial Specialist Guntars Vicmanis, phone: 
371-6703-6291, fax: 371-6782-0047, email: vicmanisg@state.gov 
 
 
-------------------- 
Trade Show Materials 
-------------------- 
 
¶4. Project Proposal 2: Establish U.S. Presence at Latvian Trade 
Shows.  Embassy Riga has not participated in local trade shows in 
recent years.  BFIF funding could "seed" our local-trade show 
program with costs of display materials and start-up costs to 
recruit participants for first trade shows.  The easiest point of 
entry would be the Riga Food Expo, a regional trade show for food 
and restaurant industries.  Post anticipates expanding to other 
trade shows in the future, but U.S. business presence in the region 
makes the Food Expo an attractive initial target. 
 
A) Justification:  Attending trade shows is one of the fundamentals 
of a successful export promotion strategy.  While it is challenging 
for the Embassy to increase awareness in the U.S. of the small 
Latvian market, providing a push for companies already active or 
interested in the market also holds potential to increase exports. 
 
 
B) Impact: While this is unlikely to have rapid and immediate effect 
on exports, we believe that it can give a modest boost to some 
companies that are already distributing products in Latvia.  More 
importantly this will lay the groundwork for an expanding presence 
at trade shows, working with a growing array of American companies 
to increase exports and bring new products to Latvia. 
 
C) Planning Milestones: 
 
March 2010: BFIF money is awarded, recruitment of potential 
participating companies begins; 
 
May 2010: Design of display materials and brochures for trade show 
booth. 
 
June 2010: Printing of materials. 
 
September 2010:  Trade show. 
 
D) Estimated Costs:  Registration and space rental: USD 1000; 
Materials USD 1000.  Total requested: USD 2000. 
 
E) Point of Contact:  Political/Economic Officer Matthew 
Stokes,phone: 371-6703-6287, fax: 371-6782-0047, email: 
stokesmr@state.gov, Commercial Specialist Guntars Vicmanis, phone: 
371-6703-6291, fax: 371-6782-0047, email: vicmanisg@state.gov 
 
 
------------------- 
Project 3: Training 
------------------- 
 
A)  Justification:  Post has identified the energy sector as one of 
the industries with continued potential for investment despite the 
economic difficulties facing Latvia. It is one of the industries for 
which we receive the greatest number of inquiries from both Latvian 
and American companies.  Furthermore, increasing energy security is 
a key policy goal in response to Latvia's current reliance on gas 
imports from Russia. 
 
B) Planning Milestones: 
 
March 2010:  BFIF money is awarded. 
 
April 2010:  FSI confirms participation of Commercial Specialist in 
the training. 
 
July 2009: Participation in the training. 
 
C) Performance Metric: Improved Commercial Specialist's 
understanding of emerging technologies in the U.S.coal and power 
industry, and increased ability of Commercial Specialist to 
represent a wide range of USG commercial, economic and environmental 
issues related to energy sector and to respond to inquiries quickly 
and helpfully. 
 
D) Estimated Costs:  Transportation: USD 2900, Hotel, Meals and 
Incidental Expenses: USD 1200, Ground Transportation USD 100.  Total 
Requested: USD 4200. 
 
E) Point of Contact:  Political/Economic Officer Matthew 
Stokes,phone: 371-6703-6287, fax: 371-6782-0047, email: 
stokesmr@state.gov, Commercial Specialist Guntars Vicmanis, phone: 
371-6703-6291, fax: 371-6782-0047, email: vicmanisg@state.gov 
 
GARBER