The Ministry of Economics intends to request explanations from Latvian Public Media (LSM) as to why journalists did not attend the conference for the construction sector organized by the ministry, which took place in Kraslava on Wednesday.
This was reported to the LETA agency by the Minister of Economics, Viktor Valainis (Union of Greens and Farmers).
According to the minister, the event was "quite significant," so he would like to understand what other matters the public media holding was occupied with that day. "This is a normal question," Valainis believes.
The minister noted that local government leaders and institutions in Latgale have repeatedly called for various events to be moved from Riga to the regions. He stated that when ministries and representatives of the private sector responded to these calls and organized a quality event in Latgale, the public media, which has a special division just a few minutes away from the conference venue, showed no interest in it.
"I think this really deserves a question," Valainis said.
He emphasized that some journalists left Riga at five in the morning to attend the conference. According to him, public media employees were repeatedly invited specifically so that local residents could see that government representatives do not ignore Latgale, hold joint events, and discuss issues of regional and national development directly in the border area.
At the same time, the minister emphasized that he does not intend to personally ask these questions in the political sphere — the relevant request will be sent by the ministry.
Valainis also noted that the activities of LSM and the Latgale studio are funded by taxpayers, and therefore, in his opinion, it is quite normal to ask such questions.
According to Valainis, given the difficult socio-economic situation in Latgale, the conference "did not deserve zero attention from LSM."
It should be reminded that on Wednesday, a conference for the construction sector organized by the Ministry of Economics took place at the Kraslava House of Culture. Its purpose was to discuss issues of significant importance for the investment climate and the development of the country's economy with representatives of public administration, the financial sector, the real estate market, and the construction industry.
