VILNIUS, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Closer relations with Poland, membership in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and business missions to new markets are top priority for Lithuania, its Foreign Affairs Minister Linas Linkevicius said Wednesday.
"To put it pragmatically, Poland is a very important strategic partner of Lithuania. We are in the same boat in terms of security," Linkevicius was quoted as saying by local website vz.lt.
A sustainable partnership with Poland is especially important in the current geopolitical situation, given the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, he added.
Continuity of strategic energy projects and power links with Poland and Sweden among other goals for the Baltic state in the near future, the minister noted.
"In terms of importance, I would not compare membership in OECD and in the EU. However, it is important for Lithuania to become a member of the most successful economies club," Linkevicius said.
Lithuania was invited to open OECD membership discussions in April this year.
Meanwhile, Lithuania's Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius on Wednesday met former Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski to discuss strategically important projects such as the power bridge LitPol Link, gas connection GIPL, and Poland's involvement in Rail Baltica.
During a visit to Lithuania, Komorowski accepted the award of Rokiskis region honorary citizenship. Komorowski's family comes from this region close to Lithuanian-Latvian border.
During the meeting, Lithuania's head of government noted that the Polish-Lithuanian dialogue and rapprochement between people is a priority of Lithuania.
"Our countries are strategic partners in the region, the European Union (EU) and NATO ... together, we will continue strengthening our strategic partnership and cooperation," Butkevicius was quoted as saying in a statement.
In his words, Lithuanian cooperation in energy in transport is the most promising.
"The bilateral Lithuanian-Polish cooperation in the energy sector is very important because it may improve the entire Baltic region's energy security situation," Butkevicius underlined.
For his part, Komorowski stressed that amid geopolitical tensions, countries in the region such as Lithuania and Poland should continue stepping up defense capacities, as well as boosting NATO integration in Eastern Europe.
