“Germany is among the most important partners for Lithuania within the European Union and NATO. I and the German Chancellor communicate regularly within the European Council in Brussels on matters important for the whole European Union. I look forward very much to this visit by Chancellor Merkel which is her second visit to Lithuania in the past two years and which offers an excellent opportunity to discuss issues that are of utmost importance for our countries and the Baltic Sea region and to strengthen further the bilateral relations between Lithuania and Germany,” President Dalia Grybauskaitė says.

The agenda of the meeting includes such topics as Lithuanian-German relations, possibilities to develop further the bilateral economic cooperation, EU measures to overcome the economic crisis and to prevent new crises, cooperation within NATO, and the EU's relations with Russia and Belarus.

“Cooperation with Germany in implementing strategic energy projects in the region and enhancing energy independence of the Baltic states is very important for Lithuania. In the meeting, we will discuss the possibility to increase EU financial assistance for the development of the Baltic Sea region by including strategic projects of the region into the list of European priority projects,” President Dalia Grybauskaitė says.

In the evening, the President will host an official dinner in the honor of the German Chancellor, to be attended also by Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius and Foreign Minister Audronius