The Lithuanian Prime Minister, Algirdas Butkevičius, accompanied by the Ambassador from Beijing, Ina Marčiulionytė, arrived in style at the Island Shangri-La last night, hosted by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

Photo: Lithuanian PM Mr Butkevičius addresses Lithuanians and friends.

The Lithuanian Prime Minister, Algirdas Butkevičius, accompanied by the Ambassador from Beijing, Ina Marčiulionytė, arrived in style at the Island Shangri-La last night, hosted by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

Raj Sital, the Honorary Consul for Lithuania, is also the recently re-elected Chair of the Indian Chamber, explaining the odd couple pairing. Indeed, the leading lights of the Indian Chamber came out to support the visit of the PM. However, the pairing is perhaps not so odd given the popularity of Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, with Indian students.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Speeches were short and sweet, touching lightly on trade and friendship. The Lithuanians let their products do the talking with surprisingly excellent red, whites and sparkling wines from Lithuania. The end of the night saw interesting and exciting Lithuanian spirits take centre stage including the famous AB Stumbras vodkas, 999 brand and more (see photos, import by Scapa Scandia). The Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, represented by Andrius Bartuskevicius, presented a gift to the PM and were well represented.

Graf Lambsdorff (Germany), Vincent Piket (EU), Dr Roger King (Hon. Con. Latvia) and of course Raj Sital were among the diplomatic representatives. The Chairs of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, Daniel de Blocq van Scheltinga, and the Israeli Chamber of Commerce, Rafael Aharoni, were lively additions to the night.



Even the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So make a stealth appearance at the end of the event, coming from official business.