Lithuania and Finland are coordinating joint transport policy initiatives for international transport corridors and developing 5G network
Agnė Vaiciukevičiūtė, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications, met with Nina Vaskunlahti, Secretary for International Trade of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, and Arja Makkonen, Ambassador to Lithuania, on Friday to discuss the next steps towards the green transformation of Lithuania and the European Union (EU), as well as investments in infrastructure projects and the development of the 5G network.
“Lithuania’s dialogue with Finland is sincere and firm: we are open to advanced technologies, together we strive to develop an innovation-oriented, sustainable, greener transport system, and cooperate in implementing the Rail Baltica project. We attach great importance to Finland’s experience in implementing transport innovations and reducing its environmental impact, investing in the 5G telecommunications network, the international transport corridors Via Baltica and Rail Baltica,” said A. Vaiciukevičiūtė.
The meeting focused on the use of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) funds to invest in transport innovations based on the high-speed 5G network in Lithuania.
Currently, the Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications is developing an environment called sandbox – a legal, regulatory and motivating financial environment to test practical transport innovations. This project will receive EUR 24.5 million from the RRF. According to Deputy Minister A. Vaiciukevičiūtė, Lithuania also plans to launch calls for 5G mobile communication technology testing, accelerate 5G deployment and promote mobility start-ups in the country.
The meeting welcomed the European Commission’s recently presented Efficient and Green Mobility Package, which includes both the revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and promotion of passengers’ rail mobility. According to the Lithuanian Deputy Minister, with regard to the objectives of the EU Green Deal and in order to create opportunities for sustainable mobility in the Baltic region, it is particularly important to include a European gauge railway route to Klaipėda in the TEN-T network.
An important area for cooperation between Lithuania and Finland is the digitisation of transport and logistics. In order to coordinate the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region in the area of transport, Lithuania plans to organise an international event this autumn to address common issues of digitisation and greening of transport and logistics.
Last updated: 31-01-2022
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