Such an agreement is provided for in the declaration signed at the summit of the format connecting the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Sea states held on Thursday in Vilnius.
According to Lithuanian President Gitan Nausėda, in the current geopolitical situation, it is important for the region to have a resistant and adapted infrastructure for military mobility, good transport and energy connections, and ensure cyber security.
“Among the main priorities of Lithuania (…) was the improvement of connectivity in the fields of energy, transport and digitization, in order to achieve a greater convergence of EU member states,” G. Nausėda told journalists in Vilnius on Thursday after the summit of the Three Seas Initiative.
“A joint declaration was adopted, which I hope will become an impetus to move forward in all priority areas,” the president said.
The document states that initiative states should accelerate efforts to create “resilient infrastructure and better connectivity” with the European Union (EU), develop renewable energy and digital innovation.
“We pointed out that the initiative currently has 143 priority transport, energy and digitization projects,” said the head of the country.
“One of the most important goals of the initiative remains the strengthening of dual-purpose infrastructure in the region along the North-South axis. Therefore, we welcome the development of military mobility plans in the region, which will help strengthen NATO’s eastern flank. In the near future, we will pay even more attention to the cyber resistance of the region”, said G. Nausėda.
In the document, the leaders of the countries call for cooperation between the public and private development banks of the Three Seas Initiative countries and other active international financial institutions in order to attract the missing finance for infrastructure projects.
“Business involvement is also necessary for the success of the initiative,” said G. Nausėda.
The declaration also emphasizes the geopolitical importance of the Three-Party Initiative as the war in Ukraine continues, it is agreed to strengthen the “role and visibility” of the format and cooperation with the strategic partners of the initiative – the USA, the European Commission, Germany and the new partner Japan.
“In the declaration, we expressed our firm commitment to the fundamental goal of the Three Seas Initiative – to strengthen regional cooperation in order to achieve a more resilient Europe and a stronger transatlantic partnership,” said G. Nausėda.
The document strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and pledged to further strengthen sanctions against the Kremlin.
In addition, the members of the initiative agreed on a common position to contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The Three Seas Initiative connects thirteen EU member states located between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Greece.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi also came to the summit in Lithuania on Thursday.
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2024-04-16 00:51:34