Photo By Heather Athey | Latvian Defense Minister Imants Liegis, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, Defense...... read more read more
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RIGA, Lativa - The Northern Distribution Network has proved itself a serious alternative supply route for timely delivery of supplies to American forces operating in Afghanistan, Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said Sept. 14 at the War Museum in Riga, Latvia.
The prime minister, along with Defense Minister Imants Liegis, U.S. Ambassador to Latvia Judith Garber and Defense Logistics Agency Director Navy Vice Adm. Alan Thompson, spoke at Latvia Industry Days. Officials said the first-ever event aims to educate Latvian industry members on the specifics of competing for government contracts offered through DLA and the General Services Administration.
More than 100 Latvian companies representing subsistence, lumber and other sectors are expected at the four-day event, which Garber described as an extension of the strategic relationship between the U.S. and Latvia.
“Nothing has exemplified the success of this relationship more in recent years than the success of the Northern Distribution Network,” Garber said. “Latvia has become a vital hub for getting our supplies to U.S. troops in Afghanistan.”
Using the network to transport supplies has resulted in 15,000 containers transiting the Port of Riga and injection of more than 7 million Euro into the Latvian economy in the past 18 months. Latvia’s economy has struggled since an economic crisis in 2008 that mirrored the downturn in the U.S.
“Now we’re looking to grow that transit business and have Latvian companies be able to compete for contracts and sell to the Defense Logistics Agency and the General Services Administration,” Garber said. “This is the natural outgrowth of our relationship and of the largest trade relationship in the world – that of the U.S. and the European Union.”
As a member of the EU, Latvia can be expected to earn a larger share of that trade relationship as the nation’s economy gets back on its feet, she explained.
Bringing about positive economic impacts in the nations along the supply route is something Thompson said goes hand-in-hand with NDN participation.
“Part of facilitating this positive impact is bringing DLA and GSA here to Riga and answering many of the questions Latvian industry members have about doing business with the U.S. government,” he said.
While contracts will not actually be awarded at the event, Thompson said he hopes to soon see a measurable amount of purchasing in Latvia.
“Three of our industrial partners are here as well, they are known as prime vendors, and in many ways they will be able to speed up the process of making these purchases,” he said.
Purchasing goods for forces operating in Afghanistan enables the agency to use certain contracting flexibilities to ensure timely resupply of forces, but contract law places limits on the types of goods that can be sourced abroad for non-deployed troops.
“A key part of the discussions over the next two days will be to make each step of the process as straightforward as possible and help you learn how to effectively do business with DLA,” Thompson said.
The admiral stressed two points to event attendees, that products provided must meet DLA’s quality standards and must be supplied at a competitive price.
“We’ll be providing considerable assistance with regard to the pricing of Latvian goods to ensure we can maximize our purchasing,” he said.
Maximizing purchasing by his country’s U.S. partners, Dombrovskis said, will help Latvia realize the commercial potential inherent to the distribution network.
“The volume of cargo transiting the Northern Distribution Network shows a trend toward growth,” he said. “It is important to grow and not to be just a transit country, but to take this opportunity to offer Latvian goods and services to our partners.”
U.S. forces in Afghanistan are some of the best supported, best supplied in American history, Thompson said, thanks in large part to the support received from Latvia’s populace in shipping supplies.
Members of DLA’s Joint Contingency Acquisition Office and representatives from DLA Troop Support were on hand to give classroom-type presentations on how to do business with DLA and the agency’s contracting approaches. Smaller break-out sessions related to individual commodity lines offered information on topics such as food safety, construction material standards and prime vendor participation.
DLA team members were also slated to be available for one-on-one consulting sessions with Latvian firms to answer specific questions.
Thompson said he looks forward to the months ahead as his team strives to maximize the positive economic impact that goes along with NDN support and thanked the Latvian people for their close partnership.
| Date Taken: | 09.15.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 09.15.2010 23:46 |
| Story ID: | 56339 |
| Location: | RIGA, LV |
| Web Views: | 76 |
| Downloads: | 5 |
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