Recently, various opinions have been voiced in the public sphere regarding the management of a/s “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM), its future, and the change of leadership at the State Forest Service. As the head of the Forest Department of the Ministry of Agriculture (ZM), which is the shareholder of LVM, I can state clearly and confidently: “There are no plans to privatise LVM; LVM is and will remain a strategically significant company owned by the state, and thus, by the entire Latvian society.”

At the beginning of the 1990s, when starting land reform in Latvia, the Saeima decided that Latvia's historical state forests would remain state property and were not to be privatised. This principle was enshrined in law. In 1999, LVM was established for the management and protection of this state property. The Saeima also determined that this joint-stock company is not to be privatised and its shares are inalienable. A clear system has been established where state forests – the non-privatisable property of the entire society – are managed by a state-owned, non-privatisable joint-stock company, and the profit from the management of this property is also state property. ZM consistently adheres to this principle set by Latvian society and does not plan any deviations from it in the future. Minister of Agriculture Kaspars Gerhards has also repeatedly indicated that he is categorically against the privatisation of state-owned and strategically important companies, including the privatisation of LVM.

ZM also categorically rejects the unfounded accusations levelled against the appointment of the LVM Council. The days when the councils of state companies were appointed in secret or within a narrow circle have long passed. To evaluate candidates for the LVM Council, the shareholder established a nomination committee, which was led by the Cross-Sectoral Coordination Centre (PKC) in accordance with the procedures established by applicable regulations, including the inclusion of independent committee members. The process led by the PKC was conducted fairly, transparently and in a traceable manner. The evaluation of the 70 LVM Council candidates took place in three stages; in the final stage, the Nomination Committee asked the candidates to prepare their strategic vision for the future development of LVM. References were collected for all candidates who advanced to the third round of the competition, which was carried out by a recruitment agency.