“Unfortunately, during the meeting, we received the news about the increasingly deteriorating situation in the south of Ukraine due to the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant explosion. Terrorists do not stop unless they are stopped. Therefore, lasting peace in Europe requires Ukraine’s victory on the battlefield and the quickest possible accountability for the perpetrators in the international court. These unprecedented Russian attacks on civilian objects are another cause for the democratic world to accelerate and increase assistance to the Ukrainian people,” Landsbergis said.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister also welcomed the launch by the OECD and the Government of Ukraine of a four-year Country Programme that would support Ukraine’s reform, recovery and reconstruction agenda and help Ukraine advance its ambitions to join the OECD and the European Union. Landsbergis noted that Lithuania saw Ukraine’s accession processes to the EU and the OECD as mutually supportive, encouraging reforms and progress in the country.
“This plan is of particular importance for Ukraine because what is happening there is important not only for Ukrainians but also for the entire continent, for the entire democratic world. There is a need for urgent support for Ukraine, as the timing of the Russian terror attacks on the country is not the best ally. I am glad that a dedicated OECD Ukraine Liaison Office was opened in Kyiv at the initiative of Lithuania and Poland. Hopefully, the office will also successfully coordinate the OECD support,” Landsbergis said.
In a meeting with the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann, the Foreign Minister called on the OECD to perform an analysis of the global fertilizers market, which would propose solutions for increasing fertilizer production in developing countries and reducing dependence on Russia and Belarus.
The Foreign Minister also called on the OECD to fight against coercive economic actions by authoritarian regimes and join the anti-coercion alliance initiated by Lithuania. Landsbergis stressed that the OECD’s relations with partner countries should be developed in line with their commitment to shared democratic values. “The OECD is on the right track to strengthen cooperation with the Indo-Pacific region, but I call on the OECD to work more actively in other regions to reduce dependence on Chinese and Russian influences.
On the margins of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Bui Thanh So’n, and discussed planned visits and prospects for bilateral economic relations.
The Ministerial Council Meeting is the OECD’s highest-level forum, attended by ministers from the organizations’ members and partner countries. The meeting is chaired this year by the British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
