Association “Investors’ Forum” met with the Mayor of Vilnius Artūras Zuokas and talked about the activities to ensure the sustainable urban development.  The biggest Investors in Lithuania see the positive changes in improving the investment climate and reducing the bureaucracy in the city. During the meeting, investors and the mayor discussed the joint actions which could help even more.

„The City leaders deserve praise for being efficient and flexible in solving the problems for the investors of the first IKEA shopping center in the Baltic countries.

Investors have been presented to the adequate attention and care, which is particularly important to attract new capital and convince investors that Vilnius is the appropriate place for investment“ – said Rolandas Valiūnas, the Chairman of the Board of Investors‘ Forum and Managing partner at LAWIN Vilnius office.

„Having Criticized the municipality for the building permit issue processes and termination for many years we congratulate the city of Vilnius now that this problem is almost non-existent“ – says Rūta Skyrienė, the Executive Director of Investors‘ Forum.  In addition, she thinks the if we wish turning Vilnius into a modern, open and prosperous capital of Europe, all emerging difficulties must be solved jointly as there is simply no other way.

Among the issues discussed by the Investors‘ Forum members, once again transportation problem in Vilnius was in question. Investors said that Lithuania is the third world country but to fly from Vilnius to Germany people have to get up at 5 a.m. and travel through several airports. Investors assured Vilnius city Mayor that they would support the idea of improving air access to the capital of Lithuania and even help search for funding.

During the meeting, Vilnius Mayor A. Zuokas invited the investors to participate in the formation of “Air Lituanica” and buy its shares. “Despite the financial situation of the city and in some areas restricted rights of the Vilnius city municipality Vilnius is open to investors and investments” – noted the Mayor of Vilnius.

“We believe that Vilnius should quickly resolve the public transportation infrastructure issue. To ensure the sustainable development of the city the modern and comfortable public transport alternative is very important” – say investors. According to them, the discussions and specific calculations for decision – tram or metro – what’s better are necessary, but the public transport issue needs to be addressed quickly and efficiently. In turn, investors are calling to use the practical experience of other European cities.