Friday, January 26, Davos-Klosters, Switzerland - President Dalia Grybauskaitė was among the discussion leaders at the World Economic Forum's session "Central and Eastern Europe: A New Agenda for the Continent?" Also taking part in the discussion were Polish President Andrzej Duda and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

The President underlined that Europe was coming back with new leadership and new commitments to the future. In the face of global challenges, it is very much in the interest of smaller states to be part of a strong Community. Therefore, Lithuania and other countries of the region support closer integration in economic, cyber security and defense fields.

Thursday, January 25, Davos-Klosters, Switzerland – President Dalia Grybauskaitė, currently attending the World Economic Forum, met with Dr. Fabiola Gianotti, Director General of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

Dr. Fabiola Gianotti is one of seven women, representing the political, economic, scientific and academic elite, who was entrusted with formulating the World Economic Forum’s main theme, topics for discussion and selecting discussion leaders.

Thursday, January 25, Davos-Klosters, Switzerland – President Dalia Grybauskaitė took part in the World Economic Forums’ theme discussion “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World”.

Among the speakers at the closed session were EU leaders, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab, leading academic analysts and top-level CEOs. The discussion focused on how to overcome a fractured world and surging anti-globalization tendencies.

Thursday, January 25, Davos-Klosters, Switzerland – President Dalia Grybauskaitė, currently attending the World Economic Forum, met with Ángel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The meeting focused on Lithuania's progress towards OECD membership and the implementation of fundamental reforms necessary for accession and for the general well-being of the country and its people.

Wednesday, January 24, Vilnius – President Dalia Grybauskaitė is leaving for Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos. The 48th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is described as a historic come-together of Europe and America, which will gather a record number of participants from the highest levels of political, business, academic and cultural leadership.

The Government of Lithuania is contributing EUR 26,000 (approximately CHF 30,000) to help developing and least-developed countries participate effectively in global trade. This donation to the WTO's Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund will finance training workshops for officials in Geneva and elsewhere to help them better understand and implement WTO agreements and to take part in trade negotiations. Since the creation of the fund in 2001, over 2,500 workshops have been organized.

Photo: © WTO/ Cuika Foto

At the Eleventh World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference (MC11) on 12 December in Buenos Aires Lithuania expressed support to Declaration on Trade and Women Economic Empowerment. 118 World Trade Organization (WTO) members observers agreed to support this Declaration. This is the first time members attending a WTO Ministerial Conference have issued a declaration calling for greater inclusion of women in trade.

At the Eleventh World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference (MC11) on 11 December in Buenos Aires, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Albinas Zananavičius met with the Director-General of the WTO Roberto Azevêdo and noted that Lithuania strongly believed that multilateral trade rules were beneficial and dedicated special attention to their implementation.

Friday, October 12, Vilnius – President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, who is currently visiting Lithuania.

On July 5 and 7, the thirteenth review of the trade policies and practices of the European Union takes place at the World Trade Organization.  The EU remains critically important to world trade as the second-largest exporter and importer of goods, the largest exporter and importer of services, and the largest trading partner for 80 countries.  In advance of the meeting, the EU received over 1000 written questions from WTO Member States that touch upon wide spectrum of EU trade policy issues. At the meeting, WTO Member States welcomed open and transparent EU trade policy and its active role in the WTO however encouraged further liberalise trade in agricultural products and prudently use trade defence instruments. Many countries were interested in Brexit and implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement.

On 27-28 June, the World Trade Organisation organised Symposium on the 20th Anniversary of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA). Since its entry into force, the ITA has eliminated tariffs on a wide range of IT products with a current annual value of approximately US$ 1.7 trillion. Over the past 20 years, world ITA exports have more than tripled in value and now represents 15 per cent of total merchandise exports. The Agreement has not only made high-tech products more affordable but has also helped to promote innovation and to support developing countries’ integration into global production chains.