Lithuania and Türkiye strengthen their practical cooperationBilateral RelationsNews of the Ministry

On 11 December, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Taurimas Valys, met with Bülent Özcan, Director General for Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Directorate for EU Affairs in Vilnius. The visit was organised on the occasion of the completion of the EU4Energy Transition and Green Missions for Climate Finance projects.

The meeting discussed practical directions of bilateral and multilateral cooperation and new areas of potential interest, such as the inclusion of business in development cooperation programmes, support for the reconstruction of Ukraine, as well as joint initiatives in Africa and Central Asia.

The Vice-Minister Valys stressed that Türkiye is a key partner for Lithuania and a leader in the region. Lithuania aims to further develop mutually beneficial cooperation with Turkey in the areas of economy, tourism, science, energy, defence industry and innovation. Valys also expressed support for Türkiye's strategic aspiration to become an EU member, welcomed the role of the Lithuanian Central Project Management Agency (CPMA) in implementing EU projects in Türkiye and underlined willingness to continue cooperation, especially in the areas of green transformation and energy efficiency. Özcan singled out the sectors of innovation technology and the defence industry as particularly promising directions for cooperation.

This meeting reaffirmed the ambition of both sides to strengthen their partnership in a wide range of areas, both bilaterally and multilaterally. The participants agreed to hold bilateral consultations on development cooperation in early 2026.