The offer, presented by Economy and Innovation Minister Edvinas Grikšas, marks the second time this month that Vilnius has pushed to deepen economic ties with Warsaw. Grikšas said Poland had responded positively and is currently reviewing the plan.
“There is a 20-hectare site in the Lazdijai district that is well-suited for potential investors,” Grikšas told Žinių Radijas, a private Lithuanian radio station. “But it requires additional funding to develop essential infrastructure.”
Grikšas noted that such a project could serve as a pilot model for Europe, which has no precedent for international economic zones of this kind.
The proposal echoes a similar offer made last Saturday in Warsaw by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, who suggested a free economic zone along the border to spur growth and job creation on both sides.
In addition to the economic initiative, officials from both countries have floated the idea of establishing a joint military training ground in the same area, which would extend an existing Lithuanian defense project onto Polish territory.
Kapčiamiestis lies just 10 kilometers from the Polish border near the Suwałki Gap—a narrow and strategically critical corridor between the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus.
(jh)
Source: PAP