Lithuania Eyes Indian Firms for Investment in Hydrogen, Green Power and Data Hubs
With India and Britain signing a free trade agreement, countries in the European Union are looking forward to a similar deal that will improve trade and investment opportunities. “We have a small and open economy and we cherish free trade and the opportunities it brings. We are always looking for partners. We see a lot of potential for cooperation with India. Both can benefit. We see Lithuania as a gateway to European markets and Indian companies can access them in the fastest possible way,” Marius Staisukaitis, vice minister for the economy and innovation told TIMES NOW. Lithuania’s regulatory procedures, he said, are quick and the conditions for foreign companies to enter and invest in the European market,” are “favourable,” he added.
Like India, Lithuania’s competencies in the information technology and pharmaceutical sectors are very strong,” the vice-minister said. The IT sector is growing at 13 percent every year and “Lithuania is the place where innovations in the IT sector are happening.” The number of unicorns, per capita, is the highest in the world and there will be opportunities for Indian IT firms as well, he added.
It’s a tiny Baltic country with three million people, and a significant number of people of Lithuanian origin. Stasiukaitis said Lithuania has a clear ambition: it wants to ensure that five percent of its GDP will come from the life sciences sector and to ensure it happens, it is “creating an investment highway which is a new regulatory approach where comparies from abroad will start their manufacturing and R&D projects in months, rather than years,” he said. Quick decision-making will save time and “it creates favourable conditions for pharmaceutical companies from India who would like to invest in Europe” and use Lithuania’s “regulatory advantages.”
The crown jewel of Lithuania, the vice-minister said, is the “laser industry.” It exports 90 percent of its production, and almost every top university, (including many Indian Institutes of Technology) use them. Semiconductor manufacturers and others can use lasers to improve their productivity and “techno-excellence” in their factories.
In this era of global warming, green options are also important, said Stasiukaitis. “Lithuania has an ambitious goal of producing 100 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2028,” he said. Besides becoming an energy exporting country, Lithuania could use green electricity for energy-intensive industries. “We are looking to attract international investment in the fields of green technology, hydrogen and data centres…It is an opportunity for Indian companies to tap into this market of cheap green electricity and invest here,” the vice-minister said.