At the beginning of the meeting, it has been emphasized that the relations between Lithuania and the US are as close and eventful as never before, and keeping the momentum is a priority.
‘We are allies and strategic partners, and it is important that we take efforts to keep up the momentum in our partnership, which is of great benefit to both the region and the United States. I think that we could focus not only on our conventional fields, such as security and defence but also in the fields of energy, business, innovation, transport and others’, said the Prime Minister.
The Head of the Government has noted Lithuania's increasing defence budget enabling funding of military acquisitions from the United States. It is very important that we now can allocate 2 per cent of the GDP for the modernisation of our military capacities.
Saulius Skvernelis has thanked the US for its efforts to strengthen security in the Baltic region. A strong transatlantic bond is indispensable. Lithuania is interested in strengthening cooperation in the field of energy and is ready to move from purchasing single shipment of liquefied natural gas to closer cooperation. Increased US exports of LNG to the Baltic region would benefit all the countries concerned.
Economic cooperation is very important for the Lithuanian-US relations. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that trade and investment will continue to grow.
Robert Gilchrist is the 10th US Ambassador to Lithuania after the restoration of independence of the Republic of Lithuania, having previously served in Sweden, Estonia, Iraq and Romania.
