"Turkey is an important partner of Lithuania and its NATO ally. Our political and economic relations are steadily growing. The Lithuanian business people are discovering new markets for export in Turkey. The scientists of our both countries cooperate actively in the fields of research, innovation, nano and biotechnology," the President said.
In 2014, bilateral trade grew and expanded. Lithuanian exports to Turkey grew by as much as 33 percent and the import of Turkish goods went up by 17 percent. More than 70 joint projects are carried out by our researchers under the EU innovation programmes "Eurostarts" and "Horizon 2020".
Turkey joined the Viking container train project which links the Baltic Sea with the Black Sea. This past January, pilot cargoes from Turkey successfully reached Lithuania.
The President and the Turkish Foreign Minister also discussed regional security issues and the situation in Ukraine. Both countries condemn the occupation of Crimea and are concerned about the deteriorating situation of Crimean Tatars and the restriction of their rights.
The President said that Russia was continuing to destabilize the situation in Ukraine and pointed out that it was demonstrating military might to neighbors and NATO countries. Therefore, a quick implementation of the decisions taken at Wales to strengthen the security of the region was among NATO's immediate objectives.
The other issues discussed were EU accession negotiations with Turkey. The President underlined that Lithuania strongly supported Turkey's aspirations for EU membership and was ready to share its eurointegration experience.
President Dalia Grybauskaitė thanked Turkey for supporting Lithuania's bid for membership in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
