President Mary McAleese has hailed Ireland's telecommunications sector as a "major high-tech success story" during a visit to Latvia.
At an Enterprise Ireland-sponsored breakfast in Riga this morning, Mrs McAleese also stressed the success of Ireland's information technology industry.
"Ireland is the single biggest exporter of software solutions in Europe and one of the top three software exporters in the world," the president said.
She is on a four day visit of Latvia and Lithuania - two of the European Union's newest member states - as part of a trade mission with a focus on information and communication technologies. Both countries joined the EU during Ireland's presidency in 2004.
She said the visit to the Baltic states marked the "beginning of what we confidently hope will be a new and vibrant chapter in our business relationship".
Ireland and Latvia had much in common with both knowing "what it is like to have fought against the odds to achieve independence", she said.
Links between the countries had been considerably strengthened by the estimated 20,000 Latvians now living and working in Ireland, she added. "With this commonality, it is not surprising that our two nations have developed a strong bond of friendship over the years."
Trade between the two countries is comparatively small - €74 million last year - with the balance substantially in Latvia's favour, but it was growing by 17 per cent annually, Mrs McAleese said.