Press release, 7 October 2015
Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, met with King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia of Sweden on their official state visit to Lithuania. The Swedish royal couple came to Lithuania together with the Swedish ministers for foreign affairs, for enterprise and innovation, and for defence and the Swedish business delegation.
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Photo of the Seimas Office (author Ilona Šilenkova) |
“From the very first steps as an independent state, Lithuania felt special attention, support and encouragement of Sweden and its people. This is impossible to forget. Today, we are happy that our countries have a close relationship. We have grounds for optimism in all areas,” said Mrs Graužinienė at the meeting.
According to the Speaker of the Seimas, our bilateral economic relations are booming and this is proved by the year-on-year increasing volumes of trade. Sweden is the largest investor in Lithuania with over a hundred and a half of Swedish companies operating. Cooperation is only intensifying. Already this year it is planned to launch the electricity interconnection NordBalt with a transmission capacity of 700 MW between Sweden and Lithuania, thus enabling Lithuania to integrate into the Nordic and Scandinavian electricity market.
“We also see new opportunities for cooperation. We offer Sweden to use the potential of the Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal. Klaipėdos Nafta is ready to provide transportation services and ship liquefied gas by small vessels from Lithuania to gas terminals in Sweden. We also invite Sweden to exploit our potential in the transport sector and join the project Viking Train, which would ensure rapid and safe delivery of goods via Klaipėda Seaport towards the Black Sea and other destinations,” said Mrs Graužinienė.
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Photo of the Seimas Office (author Olga Posaškova) |
The Swedish delegation pointed out that Lithuania and Sweden are mature democracies, which are bound together not only by the Baltic Sea but also by the same values and the same goals in connection with energy, sustainable development and security.
The meeting was followed by the exchange of official gifts and signing of the honorary guests in the Guest Book. After the meeting in the Office of the Speaker of the Seimas, Mrs Graužinienė together with King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia of Sweden visited the Memorial to the Victims of 13 January.
Rosvaldas Gorbačiovas, Senior Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6005
