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On 28 September in Atlanta, the capital city of the state of Georgia, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis and the U.S. business representatives discussed actions that the Government of Lithuania had taken to create favourable environment for innovation investment.

During the conversation, Ažubalis said that Lithuania was a great place from which international companies could expand their businesses to new markets in the European Union, and in the CIS countries. According to the Minister, foreign companies can benefit from its strategic geographical location and the Lithuanian transport infrastructure, and find highly qualified engineers, information technology specialists and medical specialists among Lithuanian university graduates.

The Minister visited the headquarters of the international company “General Electrics”, where he met with its leadership. “I hope that we can reach an agreement and brightest Lithuanian students of technical sciences and engineering will be offered internship opportunities in this global company, Ažubalis said.

According to the Minister, this would allow Lithuanian young people to familiarize themselves with the latest technology and with the U.S. business and innovation environment, to establish professional and business contacts, also to invite the U.S. companies to assess possibilities to invest in and expand their businesses to Lithuania.

On the occasion of the visit of Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology hosted a discussion of experts of international relations and European politics, during which Ažubalis emphasized the significance for Lithuania of its strategic partnership with the U.S. on the issues of security policy, energy, economy and democracy.

The Minister said that in 2013 Lithuania would preside over the EU Council for the first time ever and would aim to foster a more active discussion on energy security and Eastern policy issues, would support financial stability initiatives, as well as highlight the need to broaden free trade between the EU and the U.S.

“The EU and the U.S. are the main Western democracies, which in these challenging economic times could strengthen their positions and economies by concluding a free trade agreement. This would boost trade and jobs,” Ažubalis said.