Meeting of Eitvydas Bayarunos, Consul General of Lithuania in St. Petersburg, with the League
At first, Eitvydas himself made for the guests an excursion on the visa department of the Consulate General. Everything there meets the standards of the European Union and, in addition, the Consulate General of Lithuania in St. Petersburg is ready for entry into force of the Schengen agreements. As for the timing of the issuance of visas, the procedure takes an average of no more than a week, and if a person came from a distant part of the consular district it is even faster and they make out the visa as soon as possible.
Then they went on the Lithuanian-Russian relations having a cup of coffee in one of the reception rooms of the Consulate General. Mr. Bayarunas presented a detailed analysis of economic indicators and statistics, told about the history of relations between Lithuania and the Russian Federation.
Let us dwell on the economy. Thus, Lithuania has demonstrated a fairly steady growth in GDP since 2001, which in 2005 was 7.5% (data of Lithuanian Department of Statistics). The share of services in GDP in the same year approached 65%, and industry - 23%. Annual inflation reached 8.4% in 1997, then the mark did not exceed 2.7%. In the list of the major investors in the Lithuanian economy, Russia is the third place following Denmark and Sweden, and every year its investments grow exponentially.
Striking is the fact that Lithuania, reoriented almost entirely in the early 90s to the Western Europe, is once again turning its attention to Russia. Indeed, foreign trade figures indicate that from 2005 to Lithuania in the first place on the Import and export costs is Russia. It's no secret that Lithuania is a leader in investment in the Kaliningrad region. Number of enterprises with the participation of the Lithuanian capital in this subject of the Russian Federation in 2005 reached 650, while its closest pursuer, Poland is significantly behind.
Discussion of possible causes and consequences of the processes occurring at the present time in the Lithuanian-Russian relations has been fruitful. However, these processes require detailed analysis and continual learning.
Having expressed gratitude for the holding of an interesting meeting and for the hospitality, also having discussed plans for further cooperation, the members of the League made a photo for the memory with Consul General of Lithuania. So quietly came to an end the meeting with a talented diplomat Eitvydas Bayarunas.