Press release, 29 July 2013
Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas, met with Didier Burkhalter, Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation.
The Speaker presented the priorities of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the parliamentary dimension events that had already taken place and those that are planned. Mr Gedvilas also mentioned the EU-Swiss negotiations on introduction of an automatic exchange of banking data which will hopefully be opened this autumn. “The Lithuanian Presidency will aim at a smooth and effective settlement of the issues related to the EU-Swiss institutional framework,” the Speaker of the Seimas said.
Mr Gedvilas said he was delighted about the results of the economic cooperation between Lithuania and Switzerland: both imports and exports grew last year compared to 2011. “We would like to encourage Swiss businesses to expand their activities and invest more in our country. We suggest investing to traditional sectors such as textiles, furniture, machinery, food processing, high-technology and biotechnology,” added Mr Gedvilas.
The Speaker of the Seimas also expressed his gratitude for the support to the projects implemented in Lithuania, especially those aimed at improving the quality and access to maternal and infant healthcare services. Mr Gedvilas expressed hope that joint programmes of the two countries will continue in the future.
Tomas Beržinskas, Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6019, mob. +370 698 42 786, e-mail: [email protected]
