Ukraine pledges interest to deepen the political dialogue with the Republic of Lithuania in the context of relations with the European Union and NATO, and extends its full support to the initiative proposed by the Lithuanian parliamentarians to implement the so-called «Marshall Plan for Ukraine» - the long-term plan of introducing necessary changes in the socio-economic sphere and sources of their financing. This was stated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman in the course of the meeting with Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Viktoras Pranckietis. The Lithuanian parliamentarian visits Ukraine for the first time

«We are undertaking large-scale internal reforms and we are grateful to Lithuania for its continued support. Your initiative on the «New Marshall Plan for Ukraine» will accelerate the modernization of Ukraine, which has been already actively launched. This is a very correct and fundamental step. And from our part, we are ready to ensure full transparency of all processes»,Volodymyr Groysman claimed.

In turn, the Speaker of the Seimas stressed that Vilnius was and will remain the advocate of Ukraine in the EU and NATO in the context of, first of all, counteraction to the military aggression of Russia. «But today Ukraine's economic success is on the agenda as well. To this end we voiced and introduced the idea of the «Marshall Plan in Europe and the United States», highlighted Viktoras Pranckietis and added that the initiative was supported both at the political and financial levels.

Special emphasis during the meeting was placed on the need for the development of bilateral relations, in particular, in the use of logistical capabilities of both countries. The railway project "Viking", the effective use of Ukrainian and Lithuanian ports and active cooperation within the framework of the Trans-Caspian transport corridor can become promising areas for both countries. Additional attention was paid to the acceleration of the growth of trade turnover. The Prime Minister pointed out that according to the indicators of the first half of the year, the trade turnover between Ukraine and Lithuania has exceeded $ 400 million. «We’d like to set the goal of reaching 1 billion dollars of annual trade between our countries, which is absolutely possible. We are stable partners», the Head of Government added.

Background

            According to the results of 2016, Lithuania ranked 14th in the volume of bilateral trade. Key export lists to Lithuania - mineral fuels: oil and products of its distillation, vegetable and animal oils and fats, wood and wood products, electric cars, ferrous materials.