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The present-day political and economic development of the world creates the necessity to apply a new approach towards the representation of Lithuania’s interests abroad, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania Antanas Valionis stressed at the international conference “Economic Diplomacy in the Changing World” on 27 May in Vilnius City Hall. “The goal of Lithuania is to ameliorate the system of representation of our state economic interests abroad using rationally the international experience in a way it is maintained harmonious and transparent and guarantees an effective implementation of economic strivings by the state and business people”, the Minister said. He pointed out that despite the major role of the diplomatic service in the Lithuanian economic diplomacy, it is important to remember that this function is also shared by other, though not yet abundant Lithuanian state institutions: commercial attachés appointed by the Ministry of Economy and representatives of the Lithuanian Development Agency abroad. “In the future the role of public economic diplomacy implemented by business organisations is also likely to grow visibly”, - Antanas Valionis indicated. The issues discussed at the conference that housed around 50 diplomats in charge of the country’s economic interests abroad, who gathered to their annual meeting, covered the diplomatic representation of Lithuanian economic interests abroad, the role and models of the economic diplomacy in the era of globalisation. At the conference the Memorandum on cooperation between the Lithuanian diplomatic corps and associated business agencies was signed.