PM wants to resume discussions on increased Taiwanese investment in Lithuania

VILNIUS - Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene says she will seek to resume discussions with Taipei on increased Taiwanese investment in Lithuania.

"My position remains unchanged. I stand by what I said. I truly believe that a mistake was made in the past and that we must now resume discussions with Taiwan itself as I would really like to see their proposals for greater investment, which was promised before the representative office was opened," the prime minister told reporters on Monday.

She said this when asked twice whether, after the recent meeting at the Presidential Palace, she still held the position that the name of the Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania could be changed.

China would consider such a move by Lithuania to be one of the conditions for restoring bilateral diplomatic relations.

However, President Gitanas Nauseda has said that the name of the representative office is primarily Taiwan's responsibility and that changing it does not depend solely on Lithuania's will. After meeting with Lithuanian politicians last week, he said that the country's top officials see relations with China and Taiwan in the same way.

"We said that we are open to various proposals, both from China and Taiwan. And I think we just need to start looking at what is most beneficial for Lithuania. Decisions must be oriented towards those that are most beneficial for Lithuania and the Lithuanian people," Ruginiene said.

She did not elaborate on the possible ways of discussing the issue and emphasized that "diplomatic matters are resolved gradually, slowly."

As reported by BNS, Vilnius and Beijing have been at odds for the past few years over how to restore diplomatic representation in both countries after a dispute over the name of the Taiwanese representative office.

Since mid-May last year, there have been no accredited Chinese diplomats or other staff members in Lithuania, and bilateral trade has also dropped sharply since the opening of the Taiwanese Representative Office in 2021.