RIGA, Nov 21 (LETA) - Investments are needed to boost development in the Riga region, said Edvards Ratnieks (National Alliance), Riga Vice Mayor, Chairman of the Riga Planning Region Development Council and Co-Chairman of the association of Riga and Pieriga municipalities, Riga Metropolis, in an interview with LETA.

Negotiations are the first step to more active cooperation for the development of the region, the politician said. For example, talks are needed on connecting infrastructure. This includes roads, public transport routes and connections. Another issue is the joint development of tourism. For example, when cruise ships come to Riga, their passengers are offered excursions to Jurmala or Sigulda. Thus, even though there are municipal borders, all the municipalities of the Pieriga region are part of the same tourism ecosystem.

There is also the issue of the school network. Riga schools enroll children from the Pieriga region. The Pieriga region cannot build as many new schools as it needs. As a result, parents from the Pieriga region bring their children to Riga, while the residents of Riga maintain the schools, and then there is a mutual settlement.

It is clear that the essence of municipalities is the desire to govern their own territory. However, if we see a mutually good result, then it is possible to reach an agreement, said Ratnieks.

Also, when it comes to attracting investors, investors also look at the Riga Metropolis area as a whole, not at individual municipalities. They are interested in issues such as how far the port is, how far the airport is, what the access roads are like, not in which municipality the company will be located.

If the Riga metropolitan area together generates three quarters of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the whole country, then some support mechanisms would also be needed. Not, as is the case now, that this year, Riga and the municipalities of the Pieriga region are paying EUR 185 million into the municipal equalization fund, while the state is paying EUR 35 million this year and EUR 50 million next year, which is not in the same proportions as Riga and the Pieriga region.

As reported, the Riga metropolitan area development work group, chaired by Smart Administration and Regional Development Minister Inga Berzina (New Unity), agreed in principle on a potential governance model for the metropolitan area.