ASEM Forum: Lithuanian Prime Minister meets with India’s Vice President

Lithuania-India economic relations and the promotion of multilateral cooperation have been discussed by Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius in his meeting with Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari, in the framework of Asia-Europe High-Level Meeting (ASEM) in Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

“Lithuania is an open country, whose economy is basically driven by trade. The dynamics of the bilateral trade of previous year– exceeding the threshold of US $ 100 million – has revealed that there are many opportunities to be explored towards strengthening our trade and investment relations”, said the Head of Government. “What we wish now – is building broader trade roads with India”.

According to the Prime Minister, Lithuania and India share an ancient heritage, long history and language similarities, which inspires looking for new vistas for cooperation. In October last year, a monument was built in Rusnė, Lithuania, for the famous Litvak architect, H. Kallenbach, and his close friend, prominent Indian politician, M. Gandhi.

The Prime Minister encouraged an opening of an Indian embassy in Vilnius. 

Among other items, the meeting agenda also included multilateral cooperation in international organizations. Prime Minister A. Butkevičius took the opportunity to invite Indian government officials, scientists and entrepreneurs to participate in the life sciences forum Life Sciences Baltics 2016, which will be held in September in Vilnius.

The Indian Vice President noted good cooperation between Lithuania and India in international organizations and expressed interest in Lithuania’s scientific potential, its infrastructure, and scientific achievements. He also touched upon the important topic of women's empowerment, which is of great relevance for India. Lithuania is planning to hold a European-Asian conference on women's economic empowerment, and the Lithuanian Prime Minister invited India to take part in this event.