VILNIUS, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) should seek closer bilateral trade relations, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE's foreign minister, said during an official visit.
"As regards trade, I believe it is one of the areas where we should intensify our work together," the minister was quoted as saying by local media.
In Vilnius, he met with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite and Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius. Lithuania is currently considering establishing its embassy in the UAE.
"We would be honored to see strong Lithuania's presence in Dubai," the UAE official said.
According to Statistics Lithuania, bilateral trade volume between the two countries amounted to 82 million euros (93.5 million U.S. dollars) in 2016. Lithuanian exports make up nearly 77 million of this turnover, and bilateral trade has been growing due to increased Lithuanian grain and furniture exports.
Linkevicius noted that the Baltic country is interested in cooperation in the areas of information technology and human sciences, while the UAE minister pointed to the renewable energy as one of the fields where bilateral ties could be strengthened.
Grybauskaite noted that the UAE is Lithuania's important partner in the Middle East. Bilateral trade increased fourfold over the recent five years, thus, the UAE is one of Lithuania's priority export markets, the presidency underlined.
