On 10 June 2024, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergis, met with the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, who was visiting Vilnius.
During the meeting, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister and the European Commissioner discussed support projects for Ukraine and the Global Gateway, a new European strategy to support investments in infrastructure projects in the digital, energy and transport sectors and their development in developing countries.
“We aim for a long-term impact through the reconstruction support for Ukraine and other projects, and we are taking several additional steps to achieve the best result. Our involvement in typical school and other projects opens the door to cooperation with international partners and contributes to the European Commission’s joint effort to strengthen the EU’s international relations through concrete initiatives”, Landsbergis said.
The Foreign Minister also drew the Commissioner’s attention to the need to adopt the sanctions packages against Russia and Belarus as soon as possible, without exceptions that would erode their effectiveness.
“Lithuania’s strong stance on sanctions against Russia and Belarus has no impact on food security but limits the revenue that repressive regimes earn and cracks down on sanction circumvention,” the Foreign Minister noted.
The meeting also discussed opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises to get involved in Global Gateway projects in Africa and Central Asia – the transformation path taken by Lithuanian institutions and businesses has been a unique and very valuable experience.
The Global Gateway is the EU and member states’ strategy to support infrastructure development worldwide, with a focus on developing countries. The European Commission aims to mobilise €300 billion between 2021 and 2027 for connectivity projects, notably in the digital, climate and energy, transport, health, education, and research sectors.
