Visits

Official visit by President Dalia Grybauskaitė to the Republic of Kazakhstan, 7-8 October 2011

President Dalia Grybauskaitė left for the first official visit to Kazakhstan where she met with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Prime Minister Karim Massimov and the Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament, Ural Mukhamedzhanov, and opened the Lithuanian-Kazakh Business Forum where a bilateral business council was established. The President also unveiled a commemorative stone at ALZHIR (Akmolinsk camp for traitors' wives in the Gulag system), the place where Lithuanian women had been exiled, and met with the Lithuanian community in Kazakhstan.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė agreed with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to support on the highest level the project of shuttle container train Saulė from Klaipėda to Almaty, extending the route up to China, and to put best efforts to launch the project this year.

The Presidents described the train Saulė as a strategic project of cooperation between Lithuania and Kazakhstan.

"The shuttle train reaching China in a week is a breakthrough in the cargo carriage market. It means not only ensured benefit for the countries' economies within the forthcoming decades, but also the best offer for Europe and China in search for interconnections. This project can also become the drive for economic development of both countries, Lithuania and Kazakhstan, therefore we will support it on the highest level," President Dalia Grybauskaitė underlined.

At the present moment, the carriage of cargoes from China to Europe by sea takes 40 days which can be reduced to 10 days upon launching the shuttle container train.

The Presidents of Lithuania and Kazakhstan made a joint statement with a particular focus on the formation of a transcontinental corridor which would contribute to the rapid development of logistics infrastructure in both countries.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev underlined that Lithuania was Kazakhstan's priority partner in the Baltic Sea region. According to the Kazakh President, the first official visit of the Lithuanian President gave a new impulse for raising bilateral economic relations to a higher level.

The Presidents of Lithuania and Kazakhstan in their joint statement also speak about more profound cooperation in international organizations and agree to promote mutual trade and investments, further develop mutually beneficial contacts in the energy sector, and enhance bilateral cooperation in agriculture, food and chemistry industries, law and law enforcement, education and culture, health care, tourism and sports, fight against terrorism and organized crime.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė at the meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev discussed the potential for enhancing economic, political, cultural cooperation and business relations, as well as nuclear safety issues.

The Presidents of Lithuania and Kazakhstan made a joint statement for promoting political, economic and cultural cooperation and enhancing bilateral relations. After the meeting, the Presidents signed three agreements on bilateral cooperation. During the President's visit, a Lithuanian-Kazakh business council was established.

"We are marking the 20th anniversary of bilateral relations, but economic cooperation is only gathering speed. Kazakhstan is an important partner of Lithuania in Central Asia. Growing economic and business contacts with Kazakhstan bring reciprocal economic benefit for the people of our countries," President Dalia Grybauskaitė underlined.

According to the President, Kazakhstan has ambitious development plans and Lithuania can actively contribute to their implementation. The experience gained by Lithuanian companies would be welcomed in various spheres of Kazakh economy. Bilateral business relations in transport, logistics and innovations are developing with increasing intensity. Lithuania is ready to invest in Kazakhstan's telecommunications market modernization, in construction and urban development, alternative energy projects, as well as food industry. Lithuanian architects have already designed two theatre houses in Astana.

The three agreements signed during the President's visit will open new perspectives for mutual cooperation in agriculture, education, culture, research, and law enforcement. Such agreements will enhance cultural relations between Lithuania and Kazakhstan, promote the exchange of students and scientists, and will ensure the development of ethnic cultures.

The readmission agreement, laying down the rules for expulsion of illegal immigrants, will facilitate fighting against illegal migration while cooperation in agriculture will open new perspectives for foodstuffs trade and the exchange of experience in plant-growing and cattle-breeding, veterinary, food and processing industries.

The Presidents also discussed nuclear safety issues - significant for both countries - and agreed to work together on the international arena for more effective measures aimed at ensuring the safety of nuclear facilities.

According to Dalia Grybauskaitė, it is highly important for Lithuania, in whose neighborhood nuclear energy projects are developed, to have active international cooperation on nuclear safety issues in place and to know that safety and stress tests, analogous to those performed in the EU, are conducted for planned nuclear power plants.

"To secure nuclear safety is a common challenge for Lithuania and Kazakhstan. We have agreed to cooperate closely to ensure that uniform international safety standards are introduced and applied in all nuclear power plants worldwide, the IAEA control measures are made tighter, and regular stress tests are performed. This is the responsibility of the whole international community," the President said.

Dalia Grybauskaitė underlined that new nuclear projects could not be even considered without a comprehensive seismic and environmental impact assessments, and stress tests must become the routine procedure for every - planned or existing - nuclear power plant. It is also necessary to maximize the control of nuclear construction sites, technologies and personnel expertise, and full compliance should be monitored by responsible international organizations.

500 nuclear weapon tests were carried out at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan. This year marks the 20th anniversary of its closure.

The Presidents of Lithuania and Kazakhstan had already raised the issue of nuclear safety at the UN General Assembly held in September in New York.

During the meeting, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev handed over the copies of several dozens of case files of Lithuanian exiles.

"This year we commemorate the 70th anniversary of mass deportations. Kazakhstan is one of the places where many Lithuanians were exiled, but we still know very little about it. The copies of Lithuanian exile cases delivered by the President of Kazakhstan will contribute to the disclosure of historical truth and the perpetuation of the memory of our countrymen," the President said.

Based on unofficial data, in the period 1940-1960 about 20 thousand political prisoners may have been exiled from Lithuania to Kazakhstan, but available documents list information about 7.5 thousand Lithuanian exiles.

President Nazarbayev underlined that his country had also suffered from Stalinist repressions and was commemorating their victims this year. Such painful experience brings nations even closer together, he said.

Dalia Grybauskaitė presented to the President of Kazakhstan copies of the diary and photos of a Kazakh soldier, dated 1941 and kept at the Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania.

On the second day of the official visit, President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov to discuss the prospects of economic cooperation and bilateral business relations.

As the Prime Minister informed, following the Presidents' agreement to support the shuttle train Saulė project on the highest level, the Government of Kazakhstan was instructed by the President to start implementing it immediately. The Ministries of Transport of both countries have already taken concrete actions to launch the shuttle train as soon as possible.

According to the President of Lithuania, in view of the changing geopolitical situation in the world, Lithuania and Kazakhstan have a unique possibility to become a global link between Europe and Asia and to ensure a new economic perspective for the people of their countries.

"The faster the project that we, as Presidents, support on the highest level is launched, the sooner we will feel its benefits. Lithuania and Kazakhstan are located on the route connecting Asia and Europe. We have to use this opportunity. The transport interconnection between Klaipėda and Almaty, extending the route up to China, which can be covered in ten days, is a unique possibility for Lithuania and Kazakhstan to become a global link between the East and the West," the President said.

Dalia Grybauskaitė and the Prime Minister also touched on the potential of both countries for cooperation in education, research and construction, the economic situation in Europe, and cooperation in international organizations. Lithuania will support Kazakhstan's aspiration to join the World Trade Organization.

The President's visit in Kazakhstan is described as a new impulse for promoting economic and business relations. Lithuania is identified as the main partner of Kazakhstan in the Baltic Sea region.

After the meeting with the Kazakh Prime Minister, the President of Lithuania opened the Lithuanian-Kazakh Business Forum. The bilateral business council was established at the Forum as a body responsible for business relations and the implementation of concrete projects. The Forum was attended by two Lithuanian business associations and 40 business people.

"It is the first time after 20 years that we have a common business council for implementing mutually beneficial business projects. Business relations serve as best grounds for developing bilateral relations between the countries," President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

According to the President, the shuttle train Saulė becomes a priority project in cooperation between Lithuania and Kazakhstan, which is also of key significance to the whole country, not only its business. In the Business Forum, the Ministers of Transport signed an inter-institutional agreement on cooperation of railways which will also contribute to a smoother implementation of the shuttle train Saulė project. The Presidents described the project as strategic, giving it support on the highest level, and the Ministries of Transport of both countries have already taken concrete actions to launch the shuttle train this year.

Dalia Grybauskaitė said that a new transport interconnection between Klaipėda and Almaty, extending the route up to China, which can be covered in ten days, was a guarantee of fast export, ensuring economic benefit for the people of both countries in the forthcoming decades.

The President underlined that this strategic project would also serve as an impulse for other, smaller, business projects.

The rapidly developing Kazakhstan offers new perspectives for Lithuanian businesses not only in transport and logistics. More than 20 businesses already function in services, food, metalwork export, and health care sectors. Lithuanian experience is important in medicine and construction. Both countries are already cooperating successfully in the sphere of cardiology. Hundreds of Kazakh doctors are graduates from Lithuanian universities. Our architects have been awarded contracts for designing Astana's National Theatre and Russian Drama Theatre.

Lithuanian business people are ready to invest into the manufacture of solar cells, optical storage media as well as food processing factories, and to start the modernization of the telecommunications market.

According to the President, economic cooperation and business relations with Kazakhstan are very important for Lithuania as they open large markets.

During her official visit in Kazakhstan, President Dalia Grybauskaitė unveiled a commemorative stone at ALZHIR (Akmolinsk camp for traitors' wives in the Gulag system), the place where Lithuanian women had been exiled. After the ceremony, the President met with the Lithuanian community in Kazakhstan.

Dalia Grybauskaitė underlined that historical memory and the fate of people who had suffered and perished in exile gave us a lesson of patriotism, national unity and dignity which should be passed over to future generations.

"Today we honor the memory of all innocent people who suffered at ALZHIR and other Gulag camps, expelled from their Motherland by force. The awareness of the historical truth educates a self-reliant and patriotic young generation. This is a lesson that tragic events should never be allowed to occur again. Human dignity and love for the Motherland and freedom are fundamental values that overcome even the most severe oppression," President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

The President extended gratitude to the Kazakh people for helping the Lithuanian exiles to survive.

On the eve of the ceremony, the Presidents agreed that Kazakhstan would hand over to Lithuania the archives with the case files of Lithuanian exiles.

After the ceremony, during her meeting with representatives of the Lithuanian community in Kazakhstan, the President stressed that they were an important part of our nation. Dalia Grybauskaitė thanked them for cherishing the Lithuanian spirit.

"Let's remain Lithuanians wherever we are. Show respect for the country you live in but don't forget your Motherland," President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

About 6000 Lithuanians currently live in Kazakhstan. Most of them are Lithuanian exiles and their descendants. There are also Lithuanians who have recently come to Kazakhstan to work in various companies and implement international projects. Two Lithuanian organizations - public association "Lituanica" and cultural society "Aidas" - currently function in Karaganda and Almaty respectively.

Press Service of the President