September 17 saw a successful conclusion of the Industry Days which brought together more than one hundred of Latvian producers of food, foodstuffs, facility maintenance and office supplies, construction materials and equipment.  This was the first event of this scale and importance in Europe that was held together with a U.S. Government agency and with the participation of direct suppliers. The Industry days were positively evaluated both by their participants and organizers.

The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), as well as their direct suppliers assessed whether the offer by Latvia's producers complied with procurement needs and listed the participating companies in their databases. Further contacts will be developed on bilateral bases: the U.S. partners will contact the producers of the goods they are interested in and deal with all the matters relevant to the procurement procedure.  At the same time, the governments of Latvia and the US will closely follow this co-operation and provide further support for a successful progress of the project.

As reported earlier, the DLA Director, Vice Admiral Alan S. Thompson, during a meeting with Latvian officials, commended Latvia on its attainments to ensure the transit of non-military cargoes and showed interest in building successful cooperation with Latvian entrepreneurs in the procurement for the needs of the US Armed Forces.

The Industry Days were held from 14 to 17 September by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence, in cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in Riga and the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia. During the event, the DLA and the GSA provided information on the opportunities to register for, and participate in U.S. government procurement of supplies to the armed forces and civilian services. Latvian firms had an opportunity to display their products and to have one-on-one consultations.