“We welcome close and dynamic relations between Lithuania and Sweden. We enjoy our strong partnership and we take the same approach to many issues. We seek to further strengthen the Nordic-Baltic cooperation and to promote people-to-people contacts. We have to join efforts to address important issues facing the region today, and to help the Eastern Partnership countries. We look forward to our close cooperation on these issues, as Sweden will coordinate the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) cooperation next year,” said the Minister Linkevičius.
The Speaker of the Swedish Riksdag Ahlin said that Lithuania had achieved a great deal over 25 years. One must only remember the first steps, when members of the Riksdag established the Baltic networking in the 1990s. Sweden is now the largest investor in Lithuania. Sweden’s trade with Lithuania is greater than its trade with India, while Nordic exports to the Baltic states exceed exports to China.
Minister Linkevičius also emphasized the need to strengthen the EU support for reforms in the Eastern Partnership countries – Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine – and to implement a long-term strategy for relationships with these countries. Sweden is one of the closest partners of Lithuania in supporting Ukraine on its path towards the European integration. Lithuania seeks backing for its long-term European Plan for Ukraine.
For many years, Sweden has been the largest foreign investor in Lithuania. The bilateral trade is constantly growing. Sweden is the fifth largest trading partner of Lithuania. The potential for our further economic cooperation is viable.
