The presentation highlighted the knowledge and specialist competences as an important condition for the growth of maritime business and technological progress. The opportunities offered by the EU-CONEXUS Alliance partnership were pointed up: the European University for Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability brings together the intellectual potential of nine countries with the aim of developing sustainable strategies for the future of the sea and coasts.
The challenges to be addressed at national level were identified in the report as:
1. The need for marine knowledge for public governance is unquestionable. With the development of maritime energy, the growing demand for seafood, the increase in maritime cargo, etc., the state of Lithuania will continuously need experts, knowledge, and up-to-date information in various maritime fields
2. Klaipėda University has the largest marine research potential in Lithuania, but it is developing on the basis of academic and EU competitive principles without a national strategic approach to future needs. The earlier idea of a national maritime programme, which would have brought together specialists in all maritime fields to provide knowledge for strategic directions, has never been realised.
3. Maritime affairs and maritime strategic visions are characterised by intersectorality. In Lithuania, the management of different maritime affairs is spread over different ministries: the issues of health are under the supervision of the Ministry of Health, of fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture, of ecology under the Ministry of Environment, of energy under the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, etc. This may account for the absence of a strategic approach to the maritime economy, the most promising areas for investment, and the lack of coherence with environmental protection.
The forum at the Seimas is seen as an important step towards the development of a Lithuanian maritime strategy.
