March 1, 2017
Mr. Ministers – Dear Friends –
It gives me great pleasure to be here today to welcome the American Lithuanian Business Council (ALBC) to Vilnius. This mission brings to us some of America’s most prominent companies:
- Coca-Cola
- General Dynamics
- Orbital ATK
- Oshkosh Defense
- Strategic Staffing Solutions
- Textron System
- Thermo Fisher Scientific
- Western Union
This is the largest business mission ALBC has ever brought to Lithuania, which shows Lithuania’s progress in making itself a business destination. I hope this visit is just one sign of a stronger commercial relationship between the U.S. and Lithuania.
I am also pleased to congratulate the winners of the first Lithuanian-American Innovation Award, which we just presented with the Prime Minister this afternoon.
Congratulations to first place winner Linas Mazutis, for his Droplet Microfluidics for Single-Cell Isolation innovation – a truly impressive project.
Congratulations also to the two innovations sharing the second place prize –
— Virginijus Siksnys, Giedrius Gasiunas, Tautvydas Karvelis, for their development of CRISPR-Cas9 Technology; and
— Rimas Gulbinas for the Maalka Commercial Building Sustainability Platform.
The high quality of the applications for the Innovation Award, and the world-class innovations that won, demonstrate that Lithuania is truly an innovation hub. American companies are taking notice. Working together is the best way to bring economic benefits to both sides of the Atlantic.
With that, I’d like to introduce ALBC President Eric Stewart.