President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė met with India's Minister of State for External Affairs, Preneet Kaur, who is visiting Lithuania.

The Minister informed the President of India's plans to open embassy in Vilnius later this year. The President said this would strengthen cooperation between the two countries. Next year, Lithuania and India will mark the twentieth anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

The President underlined the growth of trade volumes between Lithuania and India by 40 per cent in recent years was a testimony of the mutual interest of the two states to develop their economic cooperation and strengthen business ties.

“Lithuania is strategically very well located in Europe. We have well–developed information and communication technologies and high intellectual potential in biotechnologies, laser industry and other advanced areas. We are actively developing interaction between science and business. All this opens up perfect opportunities for Indian businesses to invest in high technologies in Lithuania and also enhance our cooperation in trade, education, science, culture and other areas,” President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

The Indian Minister is visiting Lithuania to sign a bilateral agreement on the promotion and protection of investment, which, according to the President, will provide a further impetus for bilateral economic relations and for business investments.

The President also passed an invitation to India's President Patil and Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament Kumar to attend the high–level conference of women world leaders scheduled on 30 June in Vilnius.