On Thursday, President Gitanas Nausėda attended the Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM13).

The President addressed the leaders of Asian and European countries via a video conference. In his speech, Gitanas Nausėda emphasized the importance of multilateralism in a global world and the need to join forces in fighting climate change and overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The whole world is currently fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis. Only the solidarity of international community can help to overcome these challenges. Only by working together and helping each other can we make an effective response to any global challenge,” the President said.

In his speech, Gitanas Nausėda stressed the importance of the fight against climate change and Lithuania’s achievements and determination to be part of global solutions. The President emphasized that Lithuania was taking measures to combat climate change seriously and contributed to the well-being of the planet not only through declarations, but also through real changes that do not hold back economic growth.

“Lithuania is a great example of how it is possible to keep the country’s economic growth and be sustainable. In the last 29 years our greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 60 percent, while GDP has increased by 74 percent. I would like to underline that Lithuania has set the goal of becoming a climate neutral economy by 2050 and we will persevere in pursuit of this goal,” the President said.

Gitanas Nausėda also emphasized Lithuania’s readiness to continue contributing to global vaccination against COVID-19. According to the President, Lithuania is now sharing vaccines with other countries in solidarity and is ready to do so in the future.

This year’s Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM13) brought together high-level representatives from more than 50 countries. ASEM is an informal platform for dialogue and cooperation, which celebrates its 25th anniversary and comprises 51 countries and 2 organizations – the European Commission and the ASEAN Secretariat. The ASEM region is home to 60 percent of global population.