History of the Jews in Latvia International Refugee Organization (IRO), and other relief organizations for Nazi victims, and some of them immigrated to the U.S. and other countries abroad. Nevertheless, there were also Latvians who risked their lives in order to save Jews. One such, Jānis Lipke, helped to save several dozen Jews of the Riga ghetto by providing them with hideouts. The Jewish population of Latvia declined from 28,300 in 1979 to 22,900 in 1989, when 18,800 of its Jews lived in the capital Riga. Part of this was due to a high rate of emigration to Israel; the Soviet Union allowed limited numbers of
Ministry of Economics (Latvia) non-governmental organizations representing entrepreneurs and other social partners. The Ministry of Economics is also responsible for introducing and supervising programs and projects for EU Structural Funds. These funds are administered by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, a government agency responsible for promoting business development in Latvia by facilitating the growth of foreign investment and increasing the competitiveness of Latvian entrepreneurs in domestic and foreign markets. The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia is directly subordinated to the Ministry of Economics. The Ministry of Economics oversees several government agencies in Latvia: the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, Latvian