Industry

I always encourage people to create the Lithuania that would be able to withstand global competition. I am sure that this World Lithuanian Economic Forum, like the previous ones, is another important step taken in this direction. Lithuania has all possibilities to become a dynamic and open country, which is not afraid of global competition and which is able to compete on a global scale, the country that everybody will be proud of and in which it will be good to live. Now is the best time to invest in a long-term future of Lithuania and its people.

On 4 – 5 July, the World Lithuanian Economic Forum is held in Lithuania. On its eve the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania agreed to answer the questions put to him by the magazine Made in Lithuania.

- The State Progress Council is creating Lithuania’s vision in the year 2030. Have specific actions to increase Lithuania’s competitiveness in the global world in the nearest decade been planned?
- The Lithuanian Progress Strategy “Lietuva2030” provides for the trends in implementing the country’s vision directed towards encouraging processes of progress, which will determine positive changes in all spheres of social life. Changes in culture and thinking of the Lithuanian citizens, in values and behaviour prevailing in society, which are necessary seeking to achieve that the country should be prepared for changes, should not be afraid of innovations and should create and implement them, should bravely accept challenges of global competition, have a profound influence on the successful development of the country. Thereby the Strategy it is planned to strengthen fundamental abilities of society, which assure a sustainable development of the state, help to respond to the global changes and create high quality of society’s life.

Increaing Lithuania’s competitiveness in the global world is one of the horizontal ambitions encompassing all spheres of the Strategy. Changes that are initiated both in society, economy and management will exert an impact on preparing for global processes and an increase in competitiveness. On the other hand, the Strategy outlines the specific initiatives that influence the growth of competitiveness.

We have to initiate such changes, which would assure the development of individual abilities of each person, their adaptation and recognition. It is necessary to be able to know the world and its variety, as well as universally manage modern instruments of knowledge – to be able to speak a foreign language and to use information technologies. In implementing the Strategy the conception of an active society is singled out thereby it is sought to assure that members of society should not be afraid of changes, should be open to new ideas and global competition.

A part of the Strategy is principally directed towards increasing competitiveness of the country’s economy. Competitiveness is sought to be achieved by three essential means: 1) by creating the most favourable environment for business in the Northern and the Baltic States region; 2) by encouraging prevalence of socially responsible business; 3) by increasing integrity of economy on the regional and the European Union level. It is important to note that special attention is devoted to encouraging entrepreneurship and simplifying the business environment. It should be assured that each enterprising citizen should have the possibility to set up business and develop it successfully, that he/she should be mobile in the labour and science market.

We understand that the change will inevitably affect public management processes. Therefore it is necessary to try to achieve that public management should be in line with the expectations of a changing society, should march forward and should actively encourage processes of progress, help prepare for global competitiveness and should itself be strategically capable of accepting challenges of the future.

- In what way does the state intend to encourage the establishment of new progressive businesses?
- At the present time the Government is considering the Investment Promotion Programme for 2011-2019. Having implemented this Programme high and medium-high technologies, which create high value added will be rapidly attracted to Lithuania, and qualitative jobs requiring high qualification will be created. Taking into consideration the current situation in the Republic of Lithuania, structural changes in economy, world tendencies in the flows of foreign direct investments, conclusions of the studies of international consultancy companies and the opinion of experts on economics, we distinguished the following priority spheres of activity that create high value added: services (business services, scientific research and experimental development, logistics, medical services), industry creating high value added in the sphere of high technologies (biotechnologies, clean technologies and information technologies and telecommunications, advanced technologies); clustered traditional industry seeking for higher value added (engineering, chemistry, plastics, food, furniture and textile industry).
In implementing the Programme priority will be given to investments related to the development of the sector of high and medium-high technologies or increasing the number of enterprises creating products of high value added, the creation of highly qualified jobs, and attraction of specialists of required qualification, including the Lithuanians who have left the country. We are going to promote companies, which provide services, production and manufacturing industry that seek to apply high and medium-high technologies and the creation and export of products of high value added. Additional financial and non-financial incentives will be created and applied to the important infrastructure development and foreign direct investment projects recognised by the Government.

- In recent years huge investments were channelled into implementing the idea of integrated business, science and study valleys. What possibilities will this project open? In what way will foreign investments be attracted?
- By means of these valleys we want to rationally distribute and concentrate the potential of physical and technological sciences, civil engineering science of the Lithuanian system of science and studies and to create conditions for their further development – to create business centres of science and studies that are knowledge-intensive. Such valleys will create conditions for new knowledge and technologies of the above-specified spheres to appear, will enable us to spread them, to create and implement new products of high technologies, to create new services, to attract foreign direct investments to high technologies.

A great scientific potential and highly-qualified work force will help attract more foreign direct investments, invite foreign scientists and encourage the Lithuanian scientists who completed their studies abroad to return to Lithuania. Infrastructure created in the valleys, scientific research being carried out, studies and the possibility to apply scientific results in production and business more actively will encourage the creation of new economic entities of the technological profile and oriented towards applying scientific results, will create conditions for knowledge-intensive business companies to co-operate with research and higher education institutions, groups of investigators, to attract more foreign investments to the sector of sciences and business of Lithuania, to increase competitiveness of Lithuanian science and technologies in the international market.
Even today we can be happy that more and more scientists in the sphere of biotechnology who received degrees abroad or went there on sabbaticals are returning to Lithuania. For example, during the past 5 years, as many as 17 scientists came back to the Institute of Biotechnology after more than three-year long scientific practical work abroad and brought their knowledge and the grants of the international funds that they have won.

Attractive conditions for commercialising scientific discoveries will attract international corporations to carry out investigations in Lithuania, which will improve Lithuania’s scientific image, attract additional funds to finance the activity of research institutions. So we can say with confidence that such valleys are becoming an important centre of attraction to knowledge-based business of a relevant segment of high technologies and investigations and to foreign direct investments.

- Let us look at Lithuania’s future and at those who will create it. Why is our country no longer attractive to young people who are leaving the country to study and work abroad en masse? What strategy will be used in the immediate future to create favourable conditions for a young person to start independent life in Lithuania?
- In the age of globalisation we must not regard the Lithuanian residents who have left to study or work abroad as the lost part of the nation. We can and we have to ask the world Lithuanias to create the economic and social wellbeing of Lithuania, to cherish its culture. It is important to understand that we are one single nation. The Strategy Lietuva 2030 provides for carrying out an active programme of drawing foreign Lithuanians into Lithuania’s live, which strengthens bilateral co-operation based on partnership and respect and creates incentives for the world Lithuanians to maintain and cherish their national identity, to strengthen relations between them and with Lithuania.

- Gifted Lithuanians– business people, scientists, representatives of culture – scattered all over the world make the name of Lithuania famous by their work. However, sometimes we hear their complaints that nobody is interested in their valuable experience in Lithuania. Does the state appreciate sufficiently the opinion of the Lithuanians who gained experience abroad and create the possibility for them to contribute to creating the wellbeing of the country?
- Perhaps the fact that Lithuania has modest financial resources creates the basis for these complaints. Many business people or scientists make a brilliant career in the West, accordingly they become “more expensive” as specialists and become hardly “affordable” to Lithuania. The situation is similar to that in basketball when the best players are simply too expensive for Lithuanian clubs. The only remedy is to improve and modernise economy and create jobs for the best specialists but at the same time it should be noted that a good career in the West can be combined with good deeds to Lithuania. Mūza Rubackytė and Violeta Urmanavičiūtė-Urmana communicate regularly with the Lithuanian audience. As basketball players who play in western clubs are engaged in charity work in Lithuania so the developing sector of high-technologies creates conditions for Lithuanian scientists to return to Lithuania. The scientists who stay to work in the West can communicate with the scientists in their Motherland through various programmes. As far as it is able the Government of the Republic of Lithuania is determined to help the Lithuanians spread all over the world maintain relations with their native land.

In the photo:
Andrius Kubilius
Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania