The Chicago Council on Global Affairs is a non-partisan organization committed to educating the public and influencing the public discourse on global issues of the day. 20 members of the organization have arrived in Lithuania. Among them is Chicago Council President Ivo Daalder, former U.S. ambassador to NATO. Chicago is the most Lithuanian of all American cities - around 90,000 people of Lithuanian descent live in the State of Illinois.
"Growing interest of U.S. entrepreneurs and public figures in Lithuania shows that we are an attractive country for investment. We have well-developed infrastructure, skilled workforce and opportunities provided by the most rapidly developing European economy. Lithuanians are also interested in opportunities to invest in the United States. This is proof of strong mutual trust," the President said.
The Lithuanian head of state underlined the need to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation. U.S. support to Lithuania's aspirations for membership in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development which spans the world's most advanced economies is highly important. Lithuania's OECD accession talks are scheduled for 2015.
According to the President, bilateral trade, investments and job creation will be further advanced by the EU-U.S. free trade agreement currently under negotiation. During the meeting, the President stressed the importance of energy cooperation with the United States as Lithuania seeks energy independence. Lithuania is interested in the prospects of importing shale gas from the U.S. There restrictions on these imports at the moment.
Last year, Lithuania's trade turnover with the U.S. increased by 67 percent, reaching around 3.4 billion litas. Lithuanian exports to the United States and imports from this country stood at about 2.4 and 1.1 billion litas respectively. U.S. direct investments in Lithuania amounted to approximately 436.28 million litas. The U.S. ranks 18th in foreign direct investment in Lithuania.
The United States invested mainly in provision of services, wholesale and retail trade, vehicle repairs, real estate transactions, and information technologies. 37 U.S. companies have implemented 43 investment projects and added over 4,000 jobs in Lithuania since 2003.
