Norwegian-Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce Celebrates 10 years with Gala Evening

On May 8 evening the Norwegian-Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania celebrated their 10th anniversary in style in the Old Town Hall (Rotušė) in Vilnius evening. It is amazing to see to see how the two countries business representatives work together so well.  They certainly know how to throw a great party with the usual speeches, but also amazing entertainment that came all the way from Norway with singers and the spectacular the Frikår Dance Academy.

With a purple-pinkish background colour for the evening’s festivities, Gerūta Griniutė, the evening’s presenter and moderator started with introducing the Lithuanian Minister of Economy and Innovation, Mr. Virginijus Sinkevičius.  The minister praised the role of the Chamber in facilitating numerous success stories between the two countries and for being a catalyst of a large number of innovative technologies.

A proud Norwegian Ambassador to Lithuania, Karsten Klepsvik, congratulated the Norwegian-Lithuanian Chamber on its achievements and its 10th anniversary and praised to work of the Norwegian-Lithuanian Chamber in making connections that work and described the Business Forum as, ”Truly impressive, and something that the international community in Lithuania could learn from.” Mr. Klepsvik went on to single out the international ties as a guarantee for future prosperity in that the more than 100 Norwegian-Lithuanian Chamber members play under the leadership of Chair Kjetil Hanssen and Executive Director Lina Mockutė “representing their interests and professional networking opportunities”.

The highlight of the evening was the celebration of role the founding members played in the 10 years of the Chamber‘s activities and the awarding the Kloster Lasse Award.  It was Chair Kjetil Hanssen that introduced this year’s winner of the prestigious Kloster Lasse Award, Mr. Finn Bjørnar Lund. Mr. Lund an infatuated supporter of the close ties between Lithuania and Norway, particularly as CEO and Chairman of the Board at DNB, (now Luminor).  An emotional Bjørnar Lund was thankful and sketched an excellent overview of what the Norwegian-Lithuanian Chamber achieved over the last years in Lithuania and Norway.

About the Kloster Lasse Award

The Award is named after Kloster Lasse or Lauritz Nielssøn or Laurentius Norvegus, the first Norwegian said to have arrived in Lithuania in the 17th Century. Kloster Lasse was a Norwegian Jesuit Priest, active in service of the Counter-Reformation. The annual Kloster Lasse price is awarded by the Norwegian-Lituanian Chambe of Commerce to a deserving philanthropist.