Dalia Grybauskaitė and the leaders of Finland will discuss the security situation in the region, the threats posed by Russia’s unpredictable neighborhood, nuclear safety, topical EU issues, bilateral relations, as well as cooperation in economic, energy and education sectors.
According to the President, security challenges are emerging in many new forms. Snap military exercises, nuclear threats, migrants who are systematically moved to the border – these are continuing attempts to harm and influence the strategic decisions that our countries make. In order to counter hybrid threats, a European Centre of Excellence will be established in Finland.
A further threat to the security of the region is unsafe nuclear energy. Russia’s Rosatom is building the Astravyets nuclear power plant in Belarus without observing international safety standards. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expressed concern over the safety of the nuclear power plant in Astravyets. Rosatom also intends to construct the Hanhikivi nuclear power plant in Finland. During their meetings, President Dalia Grybauskaitė and the Finnish leaders will exchange views on joint efforts to ensure that strict international safety requirements are applied for all nuclear projects in the region.
Cooperation in energy security will also be addressed. Finland, like Lithuania, is reducing dependency on Russian gas. Last year, energy imports from Russia accounted for 60-70 percent of all such imports to Finland. Finland is building its own small LNG terminals, and could use the Klaipėda-based LNG terminal as an alternative source for gas imports.
During her official visit to Finland, the President will get acquainted with the higher education reform. She will visit Aalto University, established in 2010 by merging three major Finnish universities (technology, economics, art and design) into one. After the merger, the Aalto University emerged as a leader not only in Finland, but globally as well, ranking 115th on the list of the world’s best universities and 14th among higher schools of architecture and design. The President will meet with the rector of Aalto University, its academic community and Lithuanians studying for their doctorate.
Finland is a major economic partner of Lithuania and its ninth largest foreign investor. Bilateral trading grew by almost 9 percent last year. The flow of Finnish tourists to Lithuania is increasing.
The Nordic direction is Lithuania’s strategic foreign policy priority. Lithuania and Finland closely work together not only with respect to regional issues, but also on EU and international policy matters. Both countries belong to the non-formal NB8 forum, and their people are bound by strong cultural links.
