Minister of Economy Evaldas Gustas as well as the government representative for the Vilnius district Audrius Skaistys, popular for his anti-Polish actions, attended the meeting. There were also managers of municipal companies, representatives of business, and employers' organizations.

The Prime Minister said that there are lots of energetic and enterprising people in Šalčininkai who can enjoy a variety of programs aimed at business development.

The Mayor Zdzislav Palevič underlined that the Šalčininkai district is a friendly environment for business development. There are mostly small and medium-sized enterprises in the district, many companies are dealing with construction and woodworking. The Mayor also added that the administration of the self-government actively seeks EU funds, which are allocated for the improvement of health care services, for the development of tourism projects, for the projects in the field of environmental protection, and for the development of sports infrastructure. Moreover, the level of unemployment in the district is decreasing, but still there is a lack of qualified employees.

The Mayor of Vilnius district Marija Rekst mentioned the development of the Vilnius district in her speech - population growth, growing number of people with higher incomes, well-developed road infrastructure, business-friendly tax system. When presenting the way how to create new working places in the district, the Mayor mentioned that the companies which create new working places and keep them for at least a year, pay less taxes or are even exempt from taxes. What is more, the Mayor said that despite difficult financial conditions, the self-government is constantly expanding its infrastructure improving this way the well-being of residents. The self-government managed to build 4 new kindergartens, two hospitals, and one clinic using its own money during past 7 years.

When speaking about the problems of Lithuanian self-government, the Mayor mentioned relatively small role of self-governments in Lithuania, low amounts (13% of the state budget) allocated by the state for independent activities of self-governments the range of which is constantly expanding.

The Mayor Rekst stressed the need to stop enrichment practices by unscrupulous people regarding the land-use change. 'We agree that appropriate procedures for families and individuals who intend to build a house should be simplified, however, if the purpose of the plot is changed and it is divided into several parts in order to design housing estates, such activities should be taxed, because the price for such land rises 2 or 3 or even 7 times. As a result of taxation of such 'business' local government could get more money that could be spent on road infrastructure, lighting, or kindergartens,' the Mayor said.

Both Mayors stated that multi-ethnicity and multiculturalism is a unique asset of the Vilnius and Šalčininkai districts and that it should be exposed as a positive differentiator of that part of Lithuania.

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