“In recent years, relations between Lithuania and Australia have been more vibrant and closer than ever before - bilateral trade has been growing, top-level visits have been taking place, and an Australian Trade and Investment Commission office has been established in Vilnius. I have no doubt that this is just the beginning and a small part of the potential we can achieve. As countries sharing common democratic values, we face the same challenges and tasks, such as preserving the rules-based order, which is not an issue for individual countries and regions, but a task of global importance,” said Chancellor Balčytytė.
The Chancellor highlighted the Indo-Pacific Strategy adopted by the Government of Lithuania earlier this year, which sees Australia as an important partner in developing closer trade, scientific, cultural, and societal ties, developing cooperation in high value-added sectors, and also as a significant NATO partner in the region.
Lithuania particularly appreciates Australia’s support for Ukraine in its defence against Russian attack, as well as Australia’s firm stance on Russia’s war and its crimes, the Chancellor said. As authoritarian regimes around the world watch our response, democracies must not grow weary and risk spreading aggression to other regions, Balčytytė added.
The Chancellor stressed that the reconstruction of Ukraine cannot wait for the end of the war, which is why Lithuania is implementing bilateral reconstruction projects, with some already completed. Support for the reconstruction of civilian infrastructure - educational institutions, hospitals, transportation and other essential facilities - is relevant to the millions of Ukrainians who continue to live under war conditions.
The meeting also discussed the importance of cooperation between democracies in responding to economic pressure from autocratic regimes.
The Chancellor presented Lithuania’s experience in establishing a national crisis management model, and the new model for the management and use of public data initiated by the Government, including the transformation of the Department of Statistics into the State Data Agency.
