"Germany is the largest investor in our country and one of Lithuania's most important trading partners. It is therefore necessary to effectively represent in this country, which is also a priority export market for Lithuania. In view of the increased business needs of our country, the number of Commercial Attachés in Germany has been increased to three. We hope that the new Lithuanian Commercial Attaché in Germany will further strengthen Lithuania's position in Germany by attracting more investments and implementing joint projects," said Minister of the Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė.
With a Master's degree in Business and Tax Law, the new Lithuanian Commercial Attaché to Germany, I. Rovbutas, has experience in working with various German projects in the Baltic States, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Ukraine. She has been involved in and coordinated projects that implemented the European Union's strategic objectives on energy, climate change mitigation and sustainability, based on German best practices, and has facilitated the establishment of long-term relationships between German and Eastern European institutions, businesses and organisations.
"I hope that the experience, knowledge and skills I have gained in various projects will contribute to strengthening economic relations between Lithuania and Germany. Initiating new projects, searching for partners, defining project objectives and activities, preparing funding applications and project management skills are some of my competences that will be particularly useful in assisting Lithuanian business in one of the most important countries of the European Union for Lithuania," says I. Rovbutas.
According to the Lithuanian Statistics Department, in 2021, Germany ranked 2nd among Lithuania's 207 trading partners in terms of trade turnover, 3rd in terms of exports, 1st in terms of exports of Lithuanian goods and 1st in terms of imports. Germany is also the largest investor in Lithuania, with foreign direct investment of around EUR 5.6 billion.
Lithuania has 18 commercial attachés in the following countries: the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Norway, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Israel, Ukraine, South Korea. As part of the expansion of its attaché network, Lithuania aims to increase the number of commercial attachés to 23 by 2024.
