Official inauguration of the Polish-Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The activity was inaugurated by the Polish-Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry based in Riga – associating companies, institutions and people interested in the development of economic relations between Poland and Latvia. Among the founding members of the Chamber is ORLEN Lietuva’s daughter company ORLEN Latvija, one of the most important suppliers of fuels and bitumens on the Latvian market, also planning investments in the field of green energy.

The main sponsors of the event were ORLEN and PGZ.

– For years, PKN ORLEN has been consistently investing in assets in Lithuania, strengthening ORLEN Lietuva’s position in the region. He is also closely monitoring the Latvian market, where it is already present. As a future leader of the energy transformation in this part of Europe, we see the possibility of cooperation in the field of low and zero emission projects – offshore wind energy and green hydrogen production. Within the framework of the newly created Chamber, the ORLEN Lietuva Group will be able to share its experiences and thus potentially encourage Polish companies to open up more to this prospective market – said Daniel Obajtek, President of the Management Board of PKN ORLEN.

The aim of the entity being created is to help companies better understand the specifics of both markets, to solve their problems and to support entrepreneurs who start their business in these countries. This help includes facilitating contacts with potential partners, suppliers and customers.

In 2021, Latvia imported products from Poland for a total amount of EUR 1.9 billion (9.1% of total imports), while Latvian exports to Poland amounted to EUR 701.9 million (4.0% of total exports). Geopolitical changes create an opportunity to significantly increase trade and intensify economic cooperation.

The opening of the Polish-Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry was under the honorary patronage of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Riga and the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia in Warsaw. One of the founding members is ORLEN Latvija, a company belonging to the ORLEN Group. It is the largest fuel seller in Latvia, supplying refining products to the market for almost twenty years. ORLEN Latvija satisfies approx. 70 percent. Latvia’s demand for fuels and asphalts, supplies almost all of the largest gas station chains and sells from the terminals in Olaine, Valmiera, Lacupe and Rezekne. The company supports ORLEN Neptun I (competence center for offshore wind energy within the ORLEN Group) in preparation for new investments in Latvia in the field of wind energy and green hydrogen production. The ORLEN Group wants to become the leader in offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea area.

The opening of the Chamber was accompanied by a conference on the development of offshore wind energy on the Latvian market, organized on June 20, attended by representatives of the Polish and Latvian administration and entrepreneurs from both countries. The conference was attended, among others, by Paweł Szrot, the Chief of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland, Ilse Indriksone, Minister of Economy of Latvia,  Adam Guiborgué-Czetwertyński, Deputy Minister of Climate and Environment of the Republic of Poland and Rolands Lappuķe, Smart Technology Adviser to the President of Latvia. The ORLEN Group was represented by Józef Węgrecki – Member of the PKN ORLEN Management Board for Operations, Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska – President of the Management Board of ORLEN Neptun I, Michał Rudnicki – President of the Management Board of ORLEN Lietuva and Grzegorz Jóźwiak – Director of the Alternative Fuels Implementation Office at PKN ORLEN.