13 February
Speaker of the Seimas Arūnas Valinskas paid a working visit to the
Kingdom of Sweden.
During the meeting with Speaker of the Riksdag Per Westerberg,
Arūnas Valinskas noted that the issue of energy security of the Baltic States
was among the most relevant ones at present. The Head of the Seimas was certain
that it was necessary to do away with energy dependence of the Baltic States.
Therefore, the electricity link with Sweden is of major importance not only for
Lithuania, but also for all three Baltic States, in particular after
decommissioning Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. Mr. Valinskas pointed out that
according to the established schedule Lithuania and its partners were preparing
for the construction of the new nuclear power plant in Lithuania. The Speaker
of the Seimas also informed the Head of the Swedish Parliament that a newly
established Ministry of Energy was going to deal with this issue.
When speaking about regional security, the Speaker of the Seimas noted
that due to the current situation the concept of security had to be defined
anew and the challenges it was facing had to be assessed.
During the meeting, Mr. Valinskas and Mr. Westerberg discussed the
development of bilateral economic relations.
The Speaker of the Seimas rejoiced at active bilateral and close
interparliamentary relations. According
to Mr. Valinskas, Sweden was among the priority partners of Lithuania.
Undoubtedly, the forthcoming Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European
Union is of great importance for the entire region.
The Speaker of the Seimas pointed out that Sweden was one of the major
foreign investors in Lithuania; however, according to Mr. Valinskas, there were
still ideas and possibilities for mutually beneficial economic relations which
had not been put into effect.
The Speaker of the Seimas also had a meeting with the representatives of
the Committee on European Union Affairs and Finance of the Riksdag and Governor
of Stockholm County Per Unckel.
Indrė Viržintė, Spokesperson of the Seimas
Speaker
