Lithuania Study Visit

EU4ETTR organised the first Turkish-Lithuanian Green Diplomacy Study Visit to Lithuania!

The visit took place from 21-24 July, bringing together representatives from the Covenant of Mayors Municipalities from Türkiye, Union of Municipalities of Türkiye, Marmara Municipalities Union, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their counterparts in Lithuania. The aim of the visit was to strengthen dialogue pave the way for Lithuanian-Turkish cooperation and promote Türkiye's sustainable energy and climate agenda through a valuable exchange of experiences and networking. 

The first day of the meetings started with the opening speeches of Mr. Ambassador Ričardas Degutis and Ms. Deputy Director Rasa Suraučienė (CPMA). Ms. Daniele Zubrickaitė, Senior Project Manager (CPMA), introduced CPMA and discussed financial programmes and potential cooperation in SECAP implementation. The first day's meetings continued at the Environmental Project Management Agency (APVA), where Ms. Laura Masiliauskaitė, Chancellor of the Ministry of Environment of Lithuania, and Mr. Vytautas Vrubliauskas, APVA Deputy Director, talked about sustainable environmental solutions Dialogue in the Ministry of Environment of Lithuania.  The day concluded with a speech by Ms. Agnė BAGOČIŪTĖ, Lithuanian Energy Agency (LEA) Director,  on RES initiatives and potential Turkish-Lithuanian cooperation. 

Day 2 of the study visit started with the conference on ‘Green-Diplomacy: Türkiye-Lithuania Collaboration on Sustainable Policies’ moderated by Project Team Leader Ms. Daiva Matoniene. The conference opened with the welcoming speech of Ms. Roma Žakaitienė, Director of Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania (ALAL). Afterwards, Ms. Gabriela Kuštan gave a speech about Lithuanian Local Authorities Association. The Mayor of Švenčionys, Mr. Rimantas Klipčius, spoke about improving energy efficiency in urban areas, mentioning the practices and plans of the Municipality of Švenčionys. Mr. Edvardas Citvaras, Deputy Mayor of Birštonas, then spoke about the energy efficiency programme and the successful implementation of SECAP in the Municipality of Birštonas. Mr. Vural Yıldırım spoke about the SECAP of Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality and the role of MLGP4Climate. Ms. Elif Temizel and Ms. Hüma Baylav gave a presentation on the SECAP preparation of Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality and the role of MLGP4Climate. Ms. Agnė Skaistytė, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, gave a speech on Bilaterial and other cooperation programmes for the development of sustainable and smart cities. The final presentation was given by CPMA expert Mr. Gediminas Česonis and the conference closed with a networking and discussion session.