At the beginning of the meeting the Chancellor of the Government forwarded thanks expressed by the Prime Minister for the attention given to Lithuania and welcomed more intense bilateral cooperation as well as aim to expand political and economic dialogue.
Algirdas Stončaitis stressed the importance of the meeting of the Commission for joint economic, technological and scientific cooperation and expressed the expectation that the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Agriculture signed by Lithuania and Egypt will provide new impetus for the cooperation of the countries.
Lithuania has successfully implemented two Twinning projects in Egypt in the fields of immovable property tax and competition. The Lithuanian side emphasised that Lithuania is ready to continue to share the experience gained when implementing institutional reforms and strengthening administrative capacity.
'18 years ago we were the first Baltic state which opened the embassy in Cairo. We invite Egypt to open the embassy in Vilnius. It would intensify bilateral relations and ensure better representation of Egypt in the Baltic region,' said the Chancellor of the Government.
Egypt is important trade partner of Lithuania, thus possibilities to increase the turnover of trade and diversify the structure of trade will be sought in the future. The most promising fields of cooperation are: trade in agricultural products and foodstuffs, renewable energy and environment protection projects, cooperation in the fields of IT, high-technology and innovations.
The Chancellor of the Government invited the Egypt business community to be more closely involved in the development of joint projects with Lithuanian business partners, encourage business missions and participation in international trade fairs.
The fact that Egypt is one of the most attractive destinations of Lithuanian tourism, especially in cold period, was emphasised and hope that the number of tourists from Egypt visiting Lithuania will increase was expressed. Lithuania is attractive destination for tourists, able to provide quality services that are safe and cost-effective.
The political and security situation in the Middle East and Africa regions was also discussed by the participants of the meeting.