VILNIUS
Turkey's President Abdullah Gul said on Thursday that EU had not signed a visa lifting agreement with Turkey yet was a big deficiency.
President Gul attended the opening ceremony of the Turkish-Lithuanian Business Forum in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania, where he had been visiting for formal talks. Delivering a speech there, Gul said EU had not signed a visa lifting agreement with Turkey yet was a big deficiency. Gul said they were ready to give every support to Lithuania on Turkey's accession negotiations, during their presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2013.
Gul said Turkish Airlines to start Istanbul-Vilnius flights in June and "Viking Project" that would enable trains to carry goods from Lithuania to Turkey and to the Middle East via Turkey were important steps to enhance bilateral economic relations.
President Gul called on the Turkish businessman to invest in Lithuania, which was not affected from the economic crisis like Turkey; and invited Lithuanian businessman to invest in Turkey and to the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia via Turkey.
Prior to that, Gul received Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius at the hotel he had been staying. It was closed to press.
Following the meeting President Gul opened the Islamic Culture and Education Center in Vilnius.
