[INTERVIEW] Lithuania looks to bolster ties with Asia: minister

Diplomacy

Published: 14 Feb. 2023, 16:51 Updated: 14 Feb. 2023, 18:45

[INTERVIEW] Lithuania looks to bolster ties with Asia: minister

Ausrine Armonaite, the minister of economy and innovation of Lithuania, speaks with the Korea JoongAng Daily at her office in Vilnius on Feb. 8. [ESTHER CHUNG]

VILNIUS - If you own a Samsung phone, chances are you have come across Lithuanian laser technology.

“Your phone’s camera could have been cut by Lithuanian lasers because the South Korean market is one of the top export markets for Lithuania’s laser technology,” said Ausrine Armonaite, the minister of economy and innovation of Lithuania, speaking at her office in Vilnius on Feb. 8.

Lithuania exports more than 80 percent of its laser technology worldwide, with exports to Korea consisting of at least a tenth of its exports to Asia.

Armonaite is set to visit Korea later this year, likely with a business delegation representing lasers, telecommunication and other high-tech industries.

A woman demonstrates Samsung Electronics' new smartphone Galaxy S23 Ultra in Seoul on Jan. 30. [AP/YONHAP]

Lithuania has been growing its energy and tech cooperation with Asia in recent years, moving earlier than some in Europe to stave off reliance on Russian resources.

It imported from Korea an LNG terminal in 2014, which was christened “Independence” by its president at the time, symbolic of its intention to cut energy ties with Russia. The christening ceremony held in Ulsan came two days after Russia began its military operation to annex Crimea.

In the third month of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year, Lithuania announced zero reliance on Russian energy sources.

This, coupled with the country’s ongoing trade spat with China over the Taiwan issue has given it a rather brazen image in the minds of Asian powers like Korea that have experienced similar economic pressure and retaliation from China.

To hear more about Lithuania’s trade ties with its Asian partners, including the latest on its trade row with China brought to attention at the World Trade Organization, the Korea JoongAng Daily sat down with Armonaite at her office recently. The following are edited excerpts of the interview.

Inside a factory of Teltonika EMS in Vilnius, Lithuania. Teltonika signed a 14-million-euro deal with Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute recently. [TELTONIKA EMS]

Q. What’s on the agenda for your upcoming visit to Korea?
A. We will be focusing on our priority industries such as biotech, high-tech engineering lasers and information communication technologies. Lithuania is a small country with a population of 3 million, but we do have access to the European Union's market of 500 million people, with niche competencies in certain sectors. For instance, if it’s biotech, we specialize in gene therapy; the whole sector has grown 22 percent annually [in recent years]. When it comes to high-tech engineering, we have short-pulse lasers, so-called femtosecond lasers, that are being used both in academia and in the manufacturing industry. We have hosted a couple of times representatives from one of the biggest companies in Korea, the SK Group, for cooperation on green energy and energy innovation, and I expect such discussions will continue during my visit.

What are Lithuania’s goals as a nation when it comes to semiconductors? Is it vying to be a major chip producer?
If you look around, all the technologies, all the equipment that is in this office are based on chips, artificial intelligence and Internet-of-Things solutions. We'll need these technologies, and that’s why we’re investing in them. We know that the U.S. is also getting more and more active when it comes to the semiconductor industry, Asian countries are also top leaders in this technology, and Europe shouldn’t be left behind.

We are happy to have this partnership with Taiwan on semiconductor technology. It’s a significant decision and we have companies like Teltonika with ambitious plans on chip production.

Ausrine Armonaite, Lithuania's minister of economy and innovation, left, with Vice Chairman and CEO at SK Inc. Jang Dong-hyun during Jang's visit to Vilnius on Sept. 19, 2022. [YONHAP]

The European Union has requested the World Trade Organization begin the dispute consultation process regarding alleged Chinese trade restrictions on Lithuania. Are you optimistic that the request will turn the tables?
Lithuania has never chosen to cut off its exports to China. They [China] have chosen to apply some undeclared measures to imports from Lithuania. Before these measures were applied, we had around 260 million euros of Lithuanian-origin exports to China. It’s not that much when it comes to absolute numbers, and also when it comes to comparative share of our exports as well.

But of course, there were companies affected [by China’s move], and as the minister of economy, I would rather not open trade issues with other countries. The Chinese economy is a global player and it’s impossible to just opt out of the value chain [involving China].

Regarding the recent WTO submission, I am optimistic, I believe that the rule of law still exists both locally and globally. I think it will also send a message that this is not just Lithuania affected by these coercive measures, but the European single market.

In deepening economic ties with Korea and Taiwan, which Lithuanian leaders have often called like-minded democratic countries, is there not a growing concern that these two players are increasingly exposed to security contingencies particular to their region?
For Lithuania, this is not a problem, because we live in a very similar situation. We have a neighbor that is aggressive and just recently started a cruel war in Ukraine — I am of course speaking of Russia — and we have had this neighbor for centuries. So, we know how sometimes these geopolitical issues affect the economy, investments and so on. We know how countries can manage to combat such threats and still grow and prosper, so it is no problem.

The current administration in Lithuania was hailed for forming one of the most gender-balanced cabinets in Eastern and Central Europe in 2020 when it appointed seven female ministers out of its total 14, including yourself. What qualities do you think women are particularly able to bring to leadership?
In politics, diversity is essential. We need women in politics as much as we need men in politics. We need older and younger people in politics, because then we are able to look at same things from very different angles, experiences and approaches. The world is not formed of a single type of people so the government, the parliament, the companies should also reflect this diversity.

Ausrine Armonaite, the minister of economy and innovation of Lithuania, speaks with the Korea JoongAng Daily at her office in Vilnius on Feb. 8. [ESTHER CHUNG]

Might the illustrated portrait of a woman wearing a headscarf on your office wall have a particular story to you?
She is Zemaite, one of the first female authors of Lithuania. She wrote stories about domestic violence and women’s role in the family among other works of realism. She was quite rebellious herself. When she emigrated to the U.S., she refused to take off her headscarf, as a way of her self-expression. I have the portrait of her in my office as a symbol of strength and leadership of women.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]