Lithuania: Tatarstan is Priority Region for Business Partnership

Kestutis Kudzmanas, a minister and advisor at the Lithuanian Embassy in Russia, yesterday announced that Lithuania is proposing to set up joint enterprises with Tatarstan. Kudzmanas was speaking during a visit to Tatarstan.

According to Ilshat Galyavin, the press secretary of the Tatarstan Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation, Kudzmanas noted that at the moment most Lithuanian goods enter Tatarstan via wholesale stores in the Moscow Region, which naturally affects their retail price. 'This is why we see great potential in the distribution of goods from joint Tatarstan-Lithuanian enterprises in other regions,' said Kudzmanas.

According to Kudzmanas, the Republic of Tatarstan is one of the priority regions for the further development of Lithuania's trade and economic relations. He said that a Lithuanian trade mission may visit Tatarstan soon, and an exhibition of Lithuanian manufacturers is to be held in Kazan.

Partnership between Tatarstan and Lithuania is developed on the basis of an agreement signed on November 17, 1992 on trade and economic, scientific and cultural cooperation. In 2001 trade between Tatarstan and Lithuania was worth USD 35.6 million (1.15% of Tatarstan's total trade), according to Tatarstan's government statistics office. In the first half of 2002 trade was more than double the total for 2001, reaching approximately USD 68.8 million.