News

On the sidelines of the EU-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Brunei on 28 April, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia Mohamad Hasan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Lê Hoài Trungu, and the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia Arrmanatha C. Nasir.

The meetings discussed opportunities to intensify the political dialogue by deepening  practical cooperation in the economic and energy fields, implementing joint projects that would bring mutual benefits to the businesses and people of Lithuania and these countries.

In the meetings, the Minister highlighted Lithuania’s interest in expanding energy cooperation by providing expert assistance in strengthening electricity grids and contributing to the ASEAN Power Grid initiative.

The meetings also underlined the potential in the high-tech and digital sectors. Budrys called for cooperation in the fields of financial technology, information and communication technologies, life sciences, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.

In order to strengthen economic relations, Lithuanian export opportunities for agricultural and food products were discussed with representatives of all three countries, urging them to speed up the issuance of permits for the export of poultry meat, fish products, beef, and other products.

The bilateral meeting with the Malaysian delegation underlined Lithuania’s proposal to conclude a bilateral double taxation treaty and expressed support for the completion of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the European Union and Malaysia by 2027. Measures to strengthen links between tourism and business were also discussed, including the possible introduction of a visa-free regime.