Latvia has joined New Nordics AI, a regional initiative bringing together expertise, businesses and public institutions to accelerate the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence. The aim is to make better use of the region’s combined strengths, develop solutions that reflect local needs and strengthen the Nordic and Baltic countries’ digital competitiveness and sovereignty.
Artificial intelligence is already changing how businesses operate, how public services are delivered and how people work. But no country can make the most of these opportunities alone. Cooperation across the Nordic and Baltic region offers a way to share knowledge, develop new solutions and strengthen the region’s ability to make its own technological choices.
On 21 October, at the Techritory forum in Riga, the National Artificial Intelligence Centre of Latvia (AI Latvia) and New Nordics AI signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding. The agreement was signed by AI Latvia Director Guna Pūce and Gísli Ragnar Guðmundsson of New Nordics AI. AI Latvia will serve as Latvia’s national entry point to the network, connecting businesses, researchers and public institutions with partners across the region.
The cooperation will focus on four areas: implementing the EU AI Act, developing AI technologies that reflect regional languages and needs, promoting AI adoption in business and industry and strengthening AI skills. For Latvia, developing AI solutions that understand and support the Latvian language is particularly important, and working with regional partners allows to share resources and expertise that individual countries may not have on their own.
Moreover, this partnership will help Latvian organisations to learn from solutions already tested elsewhere and bring together businesses, researchers and public institutions to develop practical applications.
“In cooperation with the New Nordics AI, we want to both learn from the experience of neighbouring countries and contribute with Latvia’s input to projects. If a solution is already working successfully in one country, we must be able to use this experience elsewhere as well. Together we can help businesses and public institutions implement trustworthy solutions faster and strengthen the competitiveness of the entire region”.
– Guna Pūce, Director of the National Artificial Intelligence Centre of Latvia
A stronger regional AI market
On 6 November, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were formally welcomed as partners in New Nordics AI at the organisation’s High-Level Forum in Copenhagen. Representatives from government, business, academia and civil society also presented 14 recommendations for closer Nordic-Baltic cooperation on artificial intelligence.
Among the proposals are making it easier for AI companies to operate across national borders, enabling healthcare systems to share validated AI solutions, integrating AI into teacher education and coordinating the region’s approach to European rules on data centres. For businesses, closer cooperation could open access to a regional market of around 33 million people. For public institutions, it could mean less duplication, more opportunities to share expertise and faster adoption of solutions that have already proved effective elsewhere. The recommendations were developed through eight executive roundtable discussions involving representatives from across the public and private sectors.
Working towards digital sovereignty
The growing cooperation on AI is also part of a wider Nordic-Baltic ambition: to strengthen the region’s digital sovereignty and remain among the world’s most digitally advanced societies. Nordic and Baltic countries rely heavily on a relatively small number of global technology providers. This creates dependencies in areas that are increasingly important to the functioning of businesses, public services and society.
On 6 November, the Nordic and Baltic ministries responsible for digitalisation adopted a joint statement in Copenhagen setting out a common direction towards 2030. Their priorities include closer cooperation on cloud services and the security of subsea communication cables, as well as investment in digital infrastructure, research and skills.
The ministers support an approach that strengthens the region’s own capabilities while remaining open to international partnerships and fair competition. Future funding should increasingly support Nordic and Latvian projects that deliver tangible benefits across the region. Latvia was represented at the ministerial meeting by Gatis Ozols, Deputy State Secretary for Digital Transformation at the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development.
New Nordics AI was established by AI Sweden, AI Finland, Digital Dogme, TEK Norge and Almannarómur, with initial support from the Nordic Council of Ministers Secretariat in Copenhagen, Denmark. Its purpose is to connect national AI ecosystems, accelerate responsible adoption and turn regional cooperation into practical results.
Photos: Norden.org
