Energy, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Legislation, Lithuania

Lithuania and Norway signed memorandums of understanding. Oslo, 5.04.2011. Photo: president.lt

"Lithuania is actively engaged in setting up Baltic electricity market with the aim of integrating into the Northern European power exchange system, NordPool. Projects aimed at building electricity connections with Northern Europe are being successfully implemented. Lithuania is strongly committed to constructing a liquefied gas terminal. All this opens up very good prospects for cooperation with Norway, especially in the energy sector, including the possibility to buy Norwegian gas in the future," President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

According to the President, the Norwegian Prime Minister has assured her that his country supports Lithuania's and other Baltic countries' aspiration to escape from energy isolation as soon as possible and is willing to work actively together towards these aspirations, reported BC presidential press service.

After the meeting, delegations led by the President of Lithuania and the Prime Minister of Norway represented by ministers signed memorandums of understanding concerning the implementation of the Norwegian and the European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanisms 2009-2014 providing for support in the amount of 84 million euros to Lithuanian projects, and a bilateral agreement concerning the transfer of sentenced offenders to serve sentence in their home country, which, according to the President, would help both countries to fight against crime.

The President and King Harald V of Norway laid a wreath at the National Monument in the Akershus Fortress. The President also visited Norway's Storting (Parliament), where she met with its President Per Kristian to discuss bilateral relations and the Storting's role and support for Lithuania's restored independence.