In December 2020, The Council of European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) authorized CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti to open associate membership talks with Latvia, following CERN Task force delegation visit to Latvia and SAF Tehnika headquarters. After the signing and ratification of the agreement, Latvia is set to become an associate CERN member in 2021.
CERN Task Force visited Latvia in fall 2020 in order to assess the country’s readiness to become an associate member, including a visit to SAF Tehnika. During the Task Force visit at the SAF Tehnika headquarters in Riga, the collaboration potential was discussed.
“It’s an important moment for Latvia – the country’s accession to CERN, one of the world’s largest and most respected centers for scientific research. We recognize the significance and are truly proud to represent the industry of Latvia, and for our products to be considered for their potential contribution to the scientific research at CERN. We are looking forward to successful collaboration as an industrial supplier of CERN.” – says Normunds Bergs, the Chairman of the Board and CEO of SAF Tehnika.
CERN Task force also reports readiness of the industry and businesses of Latvia to engage with CERN by offering their services. Companies could be excellent suppliers of their production to CERN and its experiments, as well as directly benefit from the knowledge, technology transfer and R&D of CERN and potential invitations to CERN tenders.
“We are extremely pleased to see that the process of Latvia’s accession to CERN has finally come to fruition, proving the country to be a valuable member of the European scientific research community. The Associate Membership status will significantly enhance the capacity of not only the scientific institutions of Latvia by strengthening the fundamental science framework but will also allow companies such as SAF Tehnika to gain access to projects of unparalleled scientific and technological excellence.” – adds a member of CERN Latvia Group.
CERN has been the world's leading scientific center for more than 60 years. CERN is a unique project of scientific collaboration on a global scale. Apart from the well-known physics discoveries benefiting the advancement of fundamental science, there have been numerous technological breakthroughs and landmark engineering achievements that have emerged from this organization.
SAF Tehnika JSC is a microwave data transmission equipment designer and manufacturer with a global presence in over 130 countries. SAF designs and manufactures top quality microwave radios, series of world's smallest microwave spectrum analyzers Spectrum Compact, and solutions for wireless environmental monitoring under the brand name Aranet. Company’s shares are publicly traded at NASDAQ Riga stock exchange (SAF1R). Its headquarters and manufacturing are located in Riga, Latvia. North America sales support and warehouse are located in Denver, USA.