US-European energy dialogue important for Baltics, Lithuanian president says

  • 2019-10-07
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – The dialogue between the United States and Europe in the area of energy is very important for ensuring the security of the Baltic states and Lithuania, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says.

"It has never been more important, especially for those countries that have seen energy resources being used against them as a geopolitical weapon. I believe that the P-TEC (the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation) initiative offers a way out of this state of long-standing insecurity," the Lithuanian leader said in Vilnius on Monday, welcoming participants of an US-European energy forum, including US Energy Secretary Rick Perry and the energy minister from Central and Eastern European countries.

According to Nauseda, sustainable and resilient energy sector with a well interconnected infrastructure is the backbone of our economic growth and prosperity. Thus he stressed the importance of cooperation when dealing with key energy security issues.

"Fragmented infrastructure, power-seeking energy suppliers and cyber challenges, as well as investment raising and modernization, are the same challenges faced by many countries," Nauseda said. "We need a more diversified, better integrated, innovation-driven, competitive energy market. We also need a common future based on clean energy."

On Sunday, Lithuania together with Estonia, Latvia and the United States agreed to have a regular high-level energy dialogue at the margins of P-TEC ministerial meetings.

The Lithuanian president also said that special attention would soon be paid to the cyber security of the Baltic states' strategic energy infrastructure.