The seventh Belarusian-Lithuanian Economic Forum will be held in the town of Druskininkai on 12-13 May. It will bring together over 400 representatives from the regions of Belarus and Lithuania, BelTA has learnt.

The Belarusian Embassy in Lithuania is completing preparations for the forum which will discuss the prospects of cooperation in investment, transit, and energy, and also joint projects in engineering, bio-energy, logistics, environmental protection, information technologies.

As noted by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Lithuania Vladimir Drazhin, such economic forums help develop a strategy for the development of economic relations between the two countries, promote investment cooperation, and implement projects in engineering, logistics, environmental protection, as well as projects in the service sector, quality service, etc.

“Last year the investment flow between the two countries increased after the economic forum: $49.5 million, Lithuania invested more than $53 million in the Belarusian economy. Belarus invested in Lithuania too. In 2010, trade between the two countries exceeded $1.1 billion. The beginning of this year was good too. Shipments of goods to Lithuania increased across 264 commodity groups,” said Vladimir Drazhin.

First Belarusian-Lithuanian Economic Forum was held seven years ago in the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda. The following year the forum was host by Belarusian Soligorsk, which cooperates closely with the Klaipeda port. Every year the forum was held alternately in the Belarusian and Lithuanian cities. This is the second time that Druskininkai will host the forum.