New ideas for Lithuanian-Latvian partnership

Presidents discussed energy strategies and cooperation within EU and NATO

It was the first state visit of the Latvian President Valdis Zatlers in the past ten years. On Thursday morning - 10th February - the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė welcomed her neighboring State of Head in the Presidential Palace in Vilnius. In the bilateral meeting, the Presidents discussed relations and cooperation between the two states within the European Union and NATO.

"I am happy that relations between our states remain very good. This is a symbolic visit; yet, it demonstrates that both states attach great importance to their cooperation”, said Grybauskaitė.

Besides cooperation within the EU framework and military cooperation within NATO the presidents talked about energy strategies. „Lithuania will continue to be a country of mixed energy, including nuclear. Our principal goal is the creation of a competitive electric power market," President Grybauskaitė claimed. They also agreed to join efforts in seeking support for important regional energy and transport projects in the negotiations on the new EU financial perspective and to promote a closer dialogue among Baltic and Nordic countries.

Another item of the agenda of this state visit was the Lithuanian-Latvian Business Forum in which both presidents took part. "Successful political cooperation stems and grows from successful economic relations and I hope politicians will create the necessary conditions required for the successful development of business, and business will respond by injecting its intrinsic energy and new ideas into the Lithuanian-Latvian partnership that is becoming increasingly important to us all," President Dalia Grybauskaitė said during the meeting.

Latvian ICT companies, construction, textile, tourism, energy, electronics and packing industries and providers of business consulting and legal services took part in the Forum to establish business contacts with Lithuanian businesses.