Dalia Grybauskaitė and Angela Merkel will discuss topical EU agenda issues, cooperation ties in defense as well as further prospects for the development of economic and business contacts. Chancellor Merkel will also visit soldiers from Germany serving in the German-led NATO forward presence battle group in Rukla.
This autumn, the European Union will have to make urgent decisions on migration, future relationship with the United Kingdom and the new multi-annual budget. These issues will be in the focus of the meeting between Dalia Grybauskaitė and Angela Merkel. In the face of growing populism, nationalism and isolationism, Europe needs responsible leadership. Lithuania firmly supports Germany and the German Chancellor in their efforts to strengthen the European Union and its role in the world.
Germany is a strategic security partner of Lithuania. The leaders of the two countries will address geopolitical challenges, defense cooperation and the implementation of the decisions made at the NATO summit in Brussels. It is important for Lithuanian and European security to make NATO a stronger alliance as soon as possible, especially in our region.
Lithuania and Germany maintain dynamic economic contacts. German investments in Lithuania amount to a total of 1.1 billion euros, making Germany the third biggest investor in our country. Last year was the most successful in attracting investments from Germany. The meeting’s agenda will also include better options for bilateral economic cooperation, especially in the fields of IT, biotechnologies and industrial engineering where high added value is created.
After their bilateral meeting, President Grybauskaitė and Chancellor Merkel will be joined by the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian prime ministers at a working lunch in the Presidential Palace.
It will be Angela Merkel’s third visit to Lithuania. In June of last year, President Dalia Grybauskaitė awarded the German Chancellor with one of the highest state decorations of Lithuania – Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great.
