Press release, 2 July 2016
Photo of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the United States of America
On 2 July 2016, Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, met with members of the American-Lithuanian Business Council in Washington D.C., to discuss bilateral economic relations and the prospects of attracting investment to Lithuania. Active participants of the round-table discussion were companies already investing in Lithuania, including Thermo Fisher Scientific, S3, and others. The Speaker of the Seimas noted that the success stories of these US companies served as additional pull factors for other Western companies to invest in Lithuania.
“Your success stories appeal to other companies preparing to invest in Lithuania. Lithuania is an attractive location for business growth and development,” Mrs Graužinienė told the participants of the discussion and invited members of the American-Lithuanian Business Council to double the efforts to attract investment, innovation, and technology to Lithuania.
The Speaker of the Seimas welcomed the reinforcement of economic ties between Lithuania and the US. In 2015, bilateral trade increased both in terms of exports and imports. The US is the eighth largest export market for Lithuania. The volume of Lithuanian goods exported to the US is three times the size of exports to Russia. Around 600 Lithuanian companies are involved in direct export of goods to the US. Lithuanian meat is exported to the recently opened American meat market.
The round-table discussion also noted that, despite the fall in the US foreign direct investment across the world, American projects are not on the decrease in Lithuania. In terms of job creation in Lithuania, the US was among the main investors in Lithuania over the past six years.
At the meeting, Mrs Graužinienė also stressed that Lithuania’s political objective was to complete the accession procedure and join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by 2018. According to the Speaker of the Seimas, full membership of the OECD remains a top priority for Lithuania.
In addition, during the discussion, Mrs Graužinienė expressed her support to the ongoing negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US. In her view, TTIP would facilitate US investment, create more favourable conditions for export of Lithuanian goods, and open avenues for closer cooperation between the Lithuanian and American business.
The mission of the American-Lithuanian Business Council is to promote bilateral commercial relations between the US and Lithuania, enhance investment, and advance the American-Lithuanian bilateral cooperation. The Council members include Exelon Nuclear Partners, Fluor, Phillip Morris, Western Union, S3, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Parsons, and Maersk. The largest US investors in Lithuania are Phillip Morris, Kraft Foods, Western Union, and NASDAQ. The US has already invested EUR 157 million in Lithuania.
Rosvaldas Gorbačiovas, Senior Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6005, mob. +370 698 42 071, e-mail: [email protected]
