International Monetary Fund

Riga, Latvia, Tuesday, June 5, 2012

AGAINST THE ODDS: Lessons From the Recovery in The Baltics

A Conference on "Lessons From the Recovery in the Baltics" will be held in Riga, Latvia at The Great Guild on Tuesday, June 5, 2012

This day-long conference will bring together prominent policymakers, academics, and civil society representatives to discuss the policies that helped Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia overcome the crisis, restore economic growth, and make progress towardand in Estonias case achievethe goal of euro adoption. It will address the political, economic, or social factors that made the adjustment in the Baltic countries feasible; how to prevent a reemergence of vulnerabilities in these countries; the role of the Fund and the EC in supporting the adjustment effort in Latvia and the Baltics; whether the adjustment in Latvia and the Baltics can be seen as a model for countries in the euro zone; and what lessons the euro area crisis holds for countries like Latvia and Lithuania that want to adopt the euro.

The conference is open by invitation only. Registered attendees will be required to present photo identification on entering The Great Guild in Riga.

Preliminary Program

The Great Guild in Riga, Latvia
Tuesday, June 5, 2012

10:30 – 11:30 Registration, welcome coffee
11:30 Welcoming remarks by Andris Bērziņš (President, Republic of Latvia) and Christine Lagarde (Managing Director, IMF)

  webcast Webcast    Read Christine Lagarde's Opening Remarks Speech
11:45 – 13:00 Session I: Crisis Management and Recovery in Latvia and the Baltics

The first session will examine the causes of the crisis and the challenging policies taken to address it – fiscal, financial sector, and structural reforms.

  webcast Webcast

Moderator: Jens Henriksson (President Nasdaq OMX Stockholm)

Speakers:

Valdis Dombrovskis (Prime Minister of Latvia)

Anders Borg (Minister of Finance, Sweden)

Ingrida Šimonytė (Minister of Finance, Lithuania)

Olivier Blanchard (Chief Economist, IMF)

Gabriele Giudice (Mission Chief for Latvia, EC)

13:00 – 14:30 Buffet Lunch
14:30 – 16:00 Session II: The Remaining Challenges

As Latvia and the other Baltic countries emerge from the crisis and aim at (or succeed in) euro adoption, what policies are needed to strengthen the recovery and to secure competitiveness and growth under the fixed exchange rate or common currency?

  webcast Webcast

Moderator: Pauls Raudseps (Chairman of the Board, Ir.lv)

Speakers:

Jurgen Ligi (Minister of Finance, Estonia)

Andris Vilks (Minister of Finance, Latvia)

Giancarlo Corsetti (Professor of Macroeconomics, University of Cambridge)

Cecilia Hermansson (Chief Economist, Swedbank)

Mark Griffiths (Mission Chief for Latvia, IMF)

16:00 – 16:30 Coffee Break
16:30 – 18:00 Session III: High-Level PanelLessons from Latvia and the Baltics

What lessons should European policymakers draw from the adjustment experience of Latvia and the Baltics?

  webcast Webcast

Moderator: Chrystia Freeland (Global Editor, Reuters)

Christine Lagarde (Managing Director, IMF)

Jörg Asmussen (Executive Board Member, ECB)

Olli Rehn (European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, EC)

Sharan Burrow (General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation)

Valdis Dombrovskis (Prime Minister of Latvia)


Media Registration

To register for the conference please click here

For more information:

Bank of Latvia
Martins Gravitis pressoffice@bank.lv
+371 6702 2349

IMF
In Washington:
Simonetta Nardin media@imf.org
+ 1 202 623 7100

In Riga:
David Moore, Resident Representative
rr-lva@imf.org
+371 6771 5999