Baltic States – CIS, Energy, EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Lithuania

Margot Wallström and Dalia Grybauskaite. Vilnius, 23.01.2015. Photo: lrp.lt

"Lithuania and Sweden are bound by strong ties. Sweden is Lithuania's largest foreign investor and a reliable partner within the European Union. The NordBalt power bridge – scheduled for operation at the end of this year – will become yet another link connecting our countries which will allow Lithuania to have secure and competitive energy supplies," the President said.

The NordBalt project to interconnect Lithuania's electricity grid with Scandinavian countries has been included in the European Security Strategy due to its importance at the EU level. It will contribute to eliminating energy islands in the Union and will create better conditions for the functioning of the EU internal energy market.

The security situation in the region was also on the meeting's agenda. Even though Sweden is not a member of NATO, it is making an active contribution to strengthening the security of the Baltic Sea region. The President underlined that both countries had a common understanding of the emerging security challenges, and their further close cooperation was very important for countering the threats faced by the region and ensuring a united EU response to Russia's aggression in Ukraine.

Among the other issues were bilateral economic relations. Sweden is the largest foreign investor in Lithuania where it has created more than eleven thousand jobs. The President described Sweden as an important partner which invested in IT, communication, finance and other high-value-added sectors, contributing to boosting Lithuania's economic growth and competitiveness.

Lithuania highly values Sweden's support to its aspiration for membership in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.