Speaker of the Seimas: “Lithuania will strengthen its engagement in the cooperation formats of the Nordic and Baltic states"

Press release, 27 January 2017

Photo of the Office of the Seimas (author Kęstutis Kudzmanas)

 

On 26 January 2016, Viktoras Pranckietis, Speaker of the Seimas, met with Urban Ahlin, Speaker of the Riksdag of the Kingdom of Sweden, and members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on European Union Affairs, and the Committee on Industry and Trade.

 

The meeting focused on regional security, Lithuania’s membership of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the need for close Nordic–Baltic cooperation in the NB8 format. Mr Pranckietis stated that the latter had become particularly important in the context of Brexit.

 

“Security environment remains tense in the region. Any crisis or conflict would affect all the states in the region. Therefore, the region must seek deeper political and economic integration. Lithuania will strengthen its engagement in the cooperation formats of the Nordic and Baltic states in order to ensure security in the region,” said the Speaker of the Seimas.

 

He and the Swedish colleagues also discussed the Eastern Partnership matters and the situation in Ukraine. Particular attention was paid to the issues of nuclear safety and the problems pertaining to the nuclear power plant under construction in Belarus.

 

The meeting also covered the economic cooperation between Sweden and Lithuania. Sweden is the largest investor in Lithuania. The Speaker of the Seimas said that Lithuania would encourage further development of investment projects in finance, production, engineering, research and innovation and other sectors.

 

Mr Pranckietis also met with Morgan Johansson, Swedish Minister for Justice and Migration, in order to discuss protection of external borders of the European Union and management of migration flows.

 

The Speaker of the Seimas paid the official visit in Sweden on 26–27 January at the invitation of Urban Ahlin. Mr Pranckietis was accompanied by Gediminas Kirkilas, Chair of the Committee on European Affairs, and Rasa Juknevičienė, Member of the Committee on National Security and Defence.

 

Sweden is an important and reliable partner for Lithuania, particularly when cooperating in economy, energy security, regional security and defence.

 

Dalia Vencevičienė, Senior Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6016, mob. +370 698 42 071, e-mail: [email protected]