And then later, the city where we have gathered today, Riga, became one of the most significant members of the Hanseatic League, which controlled trade on the bustling Baltic Sea in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Today, Latvia has a modern and dynamic economy, again occupying an important position in European trade, having achieved a remarkable transition towards a successful market economy after gaining independence in 1991. Trade and finance have always gone hand in hand. Therefore, it is no surprise that just as the Latvian economy has undergone an impressive transformation, so too has the Latvian financial system.