The Lithuanian business desk in Greece opened in Athens

By:

Mindaugas VAIČIŪNAS, Coordinator of The Lithuanian Business Desk in Greece, LT: +370 685 67649, GR: +306945975212, E-mail: mindaugas@vaiciunas.lt and

Haris MEIDANIS, Managing Partner, Law Firm Meidanis, Seremetakis & Associates,

GR: +302103604445, E-mail: hmeidanis@hmlaw.gr

In Athens on 9 May 2023 the Greek law firm Meidanis, Seremetakis & Associates and the Lithuanian law firm Vaiciunas & Vaiciunas have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on The Lithuanian Business Desk in Greece with the aim of contributing to building preconditions for investment and partnership, as well as to developing and improving Lithuanian-Greek business relations.

It is the first private initiative in Greece to offer legal assistance tailored to Lithuanian businesses on a permanent basis. The key objective of the Lithuanian Business Desk in Greece is to assist Lithuanian companies with their business interests in Greece, in seizing opportunities in the Greek market. The cooperation not only creates clarity on the legal issues relevant to Lithuanian businesses in Greece, but also becomes a link for the broader development of relations between Greek and Lithuanian companies.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding was witnessed and welcomed by Ms Lina Skerstonaitė, the Ambassador of Lithuania to Greece, by Mr Akis Sklavos, the General Director of the Strategic Investments Directorate of the official investment and trade promotion agency of the Greek State ‘‘Enterprise Greece“, and by Ms Elpis Tsouchlari,‘‘Enterprise Greece“ representative. The meeting on this occasion and the discussion of possible activities of the institutions of both countries was another opportunity to be convinced of the attention and efforts devoted to the development of economic relations and business ties between Lithuania and Greece.

“It is also important for Lithuanians, for Lithuanian companies that may be interested in investing in Greece, to understand that the Greece of 2022 is nothing like the Greece of the economic crisis of the second decade of the 21st century. We have made significant progress and I think we can further strengthen the economic ties between our two countries, to the benefit of both our peoples” – Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted during his visit to Lithuania on 31 October 2022.

Both Lithuania and Greece are members of the European Union and NATO, both use the euro and are in the same time zone. Nevertheless, a significant impediment to wider business cooperation between Lithuania and Greece is that, being on different sides of Europe, we still know and understand too little about each other. Therefore, one of the activities of The Lithuanian Business Desk in Greece is to raise awareness and understanding of the Greek legal environment and related developments in Greece. Based on information published in the Greek media, The Lithuanian Business Desk in Greece prepares and publishes regular reviews of Greek economic and business events in Lithuanian.

The Lithuanian Business Desk in Greece is an important but only the first step in the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation signed by the two lawfirms.