VILNIUS, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania and Sweden, already connected by tight economic ties, are on a clear way to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, also due to changing geopolitical situation in the Baltic Sea region.
The Swedish Royal couple, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, paid a three-day visit in Lithuania last week as a proof for further closer relations between the largest Nordic economy and Vilnius.
"Indeed, we are living in a period when we are in a need to closely cooperate with all partners in the EU and Baltic region," Cecilia Ruthström-Ruin, Swedish Ambassador to Lithuania, said in an interview with local business daily Verslo Zinios.
"We must show we are united in many areas; our historical past, our tight political and particularly strong economic ties unite us," she added.
Sweden, the largest foreign investor in Lithuania, plays an important role in the Baltic country's financial system, telecommunications and media sector.
The NordBalt power link between Lithuania and Sweden planned to be completed in December this year, will connect the two countries and open European electricity market for the Baltic State.
Lithuanian officials expect that the NordBalt link between Lithuania and Sweden will ensure the country's energy independence and bring cheaper electricity to Lithuanian market.
According to Ambassador Cecilia Ruthstrom-Ruin, Lithuania and Sweden will not only have common electricity market, but also "will serve as a backing to further integration in economy, as well as in other areas."
Above all, high Swedish and Lithuanian officials discussed how to enhance security cooperation in the region. Juozas Olekas, Lithuania's minister of defence, invited Sweden to send its troops for joint exercises with NATO forces in Lithuania, the Baltic country's Ministry of Defence announced.
Dalia Grybauskaite, Lithuania's president, pointed out during the Royal family's visit that Sweden, although not a NATO member state, well understood the need to respond to the geopolitical threats emerging to our region.
The bilateral defence cooperation goes back to years after Lithuania regained its independence when Sweden helped to equip and train Lithuania's military forces.
NORDIC DIRECTION
With two of Lithuania's largest banks in terms of assets, revenue and profit fully owned by Swedish financial groups and Swedish companies controlling Lithuania's telecommunications market and investing actively in the country's media, some skeptics call Lithuania "Swedish protectorate", wrote Rytas Staselis, a Lithuanian economic, political reviewer and an energy market expert, in a commentary published on the newspaper Alytaus Naujienos.
"However, I have never experienced any headache because of safety of my money kept in Swedish banks; I also believe, our customers experienced enormous benefits from Swedish business-based competition in telecommunications," Staselis' article read.
"In terms of energy, I would say the more Sweden and Scandinavia in our energy system, the better," he added.
Cecilia Ruthstrom-Ruin, Sweden's diplomatic envoy to Lithuania, explained that the Royal family's visit to the Baltic State was not accidental.
"It is 25th anniversary of the restoration Lithuania's independence; we are one of the closest neighbours, more than 10 years working together in the European Union," she mentioned.
It was not the Swedish Royal family's first visit to Lithuania. The Swedish king visited the Baltic country in October 1992. The Royal couple also visited Lithuania in 2009 when the Baltic country marked the millennium anniversary of the first mention of its name in historic annals.
Sweden has been the biggest foreign investor in Lithuania for eight years now, currently accounting for 26 percent of direct foreign investment in the country. At the end of the second quarter, 3.1 billion euros (3.49 billion U.S. dollars) or 24 percent of cumulative foreign direct investment in Lithuania, were invested by Swedish companies.
Two hundred Swedish capital companies with more than 11,000 Lithuanian employees on their staff list operate in the Baltic country.
"Lithuania has made a well-considered decision to take on the Nordic direction as a model of progressive, responsible and European path of development," Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite said during the Royal family's visit.
"We are equal partners with Sweden, we work together for the security and good of our people," the president stressed.
According to the Presidency, as much as 62 percent of the population supports the Nordic direction in Lithuania's foreign policy.
In the words of Grybauskaite, the closer business relations between Lithuania and Sweden will not only create new jobs and enhance the competitiveness of the Lithuanian economy but also promote the development of innovations and socially responsible business in the Baltic state.
