“Today, we can be absolutely certain that we have done what other governments have failed to do – we have consolidated the four national promotional institutions that were not efficient enough to date into one – Investment in the Lithuanian Economy, ILTE, with an arsenal of financial instruments amounting to EUR 1.4 billion of new instruments that have already reached the economy and EUR 3 billion of the new ones,” Minister of Finance Gintarė Skaistė saidin her opening speech at the Conference “Ideas: Innovation. Investment in the Lithuanian Economy” today.

The distribution of the thirteenth issue Government savings notes (GSN) ended on Monday, where residents purchased GSN for EUR 4.7 million and 414 transactions were made. Residents will be paid 3.1 per cent of annual interest on this new one-year GSN issue.

Minister of Finance Gintarė Skaistė signed the draft resolution for allocation of additional funds to acquire necessary weapon systems still this year. The Ministry of National Defence will be allocated EUR 130 million out of borrowed funds – this will allow to speed up the acquisition of drones, anti-drone systems and weapons, to upgrade existing mobile air defence systems and to acquire the new ones. Defence funding this year, including these additional funds, will reach 3.2 % of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Lithuania.

The distribution of the twelfth issue Government savings notes (GSN) ended on Monday, where residents purchased GSN for EUR 6.2 million and 531 transactions were made. Residents will be paid 3.2 per cent of annual interest on this new one-year GSN issue.

The Ministry of the Economy and Innovation has allocated more than €8.2 million to 174 European Union (EU) investment projects that will enable Lithuanian companies to develop and improve the skills of their employees.

Lithuania borrowed EUR 1 billion in international capital markets by issuing a 7-year Eurobond.

As of July, another 34 budgetary institutions are joining the State Treasury Consolidated Account Management System (VIKSVA). This means that by the end of the year, 406 institutions, i.e. about 85% of all budgetary and public institutions that have to switch to the new system under the Law on the State Treasury, will have accounts with the State Treasury.

Two years ago, the Kaunas Free Economic Zone (FEZ) announced that it attracted its first billion of investments. Currently, the amount of investments is approaching the second billion, amounting to €1.56 billion. This investment will create almost 10,000 high-skilled jobs in the near future.

The European Commission has published the results of the 2024 European Innovation Scoreboard, which shows continued progress in Lithuania's innovation ecosystem. Over the period 2023-2024, Lithuania's progress is the highest in the European Union, with a growth rate of 3.7 percentage points compared to the EU average of 0.6%. Overall, Lithuania's innovation ecosystem has reached the highest level of development in its history, with a cumulative innovation index score of 92 points.

Companies and institutions managed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Lithuania have contributed a considerable amount of taxes and dividends to the state budget: as much as €261 million last year. This year, more than €47 million in dividends alone have been paid for 2023, which is 3.3 times more than in 2022.