RIGA, May 27 (LETA) - Investors are afraid to go to Latgale and invest in development due to possible drone threats, Ivo Dembovskis, head of Latgale Regional Council of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said at a meeting of Saeima Latgale Subcommittee on Wednesday.

After each cell broadcast alert, production at companies is halted and workers go home. If an alert is sent out early in the morning, workers and their children stay at home and production is paralyzed, which has consequences for contract performance and loan payments. There are also problems with supplies of raw materials to Latgale.

"This causes fear to invest in development," said Dembovskis.

Commenting on Latgale Tourism Association's announcement of mass cancellations of bookings this summer, Dembovkis said that this had a multiplier effect elsewhere in business. Craftsmen, home producers, caterers, cultural and sports sectors are suffering, he explained.

"Investors who were interested in Latgale are now refusing to visit," the LCCI representative said, explaining that a number of trips planned for May and summer had been cancelled, said Dembovskis.

He believes that the wording of cell broadcast alerts needs to be revised, making the alerts more specific, so that heads of companies and institutions can make their own decisions on how to proceed.

"The moment of crisis is also a moment of opportunity to take bold decisions, both in the military and politically, by adopting the Eastern Border Regions Development Law," said Dembovskis.

As reported, recently in several regions of Latgale and Vidzeme, residents have been receiving regular cell broadcast alerts about possible airspace threats due to the approach or entry of UAVs into the territory of Latvia.

Discussions continue among the public and officials on the need to improve the action algorithms, as regular alerts have a significant impact on social and economic life in the regions.

In Latvia, several drones related to the Russia-Ukraine war have flown or even exploded in the past, including on May 7 in Rezekne. No casualties occurred in these cases.