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The last year’s dynamics of search for potential investors when hundreds of foreign companies were invited to invest in Lithuania by the diplomatic service must be further maintained,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Audronius Ažubalis at the session “The cooperation between the diplomatic service and business” of the annual meeting of heads of diplomatic representations. According to the Minister, during the year 2010 invitations to invest in Lithuania and information about the country’s investment climate reached almost 200 foreign companies. Today’s active dialogue with 19 companies on specific investment projects is the outcome of these meetings. Such negotiations are currently at an early stage with other seven companies.

“It is necessary to maintain the dynamics of the search for potential investors,” A.Ažubalis said on 22 July at the session of the meeting of ambassadors in the village of Vazgaikiemis, Prienai district.

Over the last year, diplomatic representations organized 130 various meetings for establishing contacts, actively contributed to organizing trade missions and to the search of partners for Lithuanian companies.

According to A.Ažubalis, Lithuanian diplomatic representations have to be active not only in attracting foreign investors, but also in introducing examples of foreign best practices that could be applied when creating Lithuania’s modern economy.

“Our dynamic activity in the sphere of investment promotion does not go unnoticed – this year, diplomats from Estonia paid a visit to Lithuania to learn the best practice from our diplomats,” the Minister said.

Participants of the day-long meeting discussed the role of diplomacy in attracting direct foreign investments, also practical issues of business cooperation with diplomatic representations, the importance of cooperation to promote exports and the role of the diplomatic service in promoting incoming tourism.

According to A.Ažubalis, among the current key trends of foreign trade policy in the competence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs there are: completing negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement with Ukraine, opening analogous negotiations with Moldova and Georgia, specific results guiding the EU’s trade policy towards the East, opening up markets for Lithuania’s exports and maintaining the level of protection against unfair competition.

At the meeting, Managing Director of public organization “Invest Lithuania” Mantas Nocius stressed that efficiency, flexibility and cooperation were the advantages of activities of Lithuania’s business, public institutions and diplomatic service in attracting foreign investment.

A.Ažubalis noted that in the light of the potential of export industry and with an aim to increase exports, it was important to systematically work with target markets, to maintain and strengthen positions in big EU countries and to advance activities, traditionally directed towards the East.

“When actively engaging ourselves in trade policy, we are protecting legitimate interests of Lithuanian manufacturers within the process of the EU negotiations with third countries,” the Minister said.

The Minister stressed the importance of incoming tourism and raised an ambitious goal for heads of diplomatic representations to develop tourism and to increase the share of Lithuania’s tourism sector in the GDP to 10 per cent in the next five years.