LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 3, 2013) — Commerce Lexington officials last week hosted a kick-off breakfast at Town Branch Distillery for a Lithuanian bourbon trade mission.
Congressman Andy Barr, R-Ky., recently met Lithuanian Ambassador Zygimantas Pavilionis. He invited Pavilionis to visit Kentucky after discovering that the ambassador was interested in learning more about Kentucky’s signature bourbon industry.
Pavilionis brought a group of Lithuanian officials to the commonwealth, including the state secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, the director of the food and agriculture department, the director of distribution chain and the attaché for agriculture and commerce. Eric Stewart, president of the American Lithuanian Business Council, also attended.
The Lithuanian officials toured bourbon distilleries Woodford Reserve, Buffalo Trace and Wild Turkey, and visited Keeneland. Pavilionis and Barr also attended a University of Kentucky basketball game.
Next year, Barr will lead a delegation of Kentucky officials on a trade mission to Lithuania, which is located between the Nordic region, Western Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The small country is known as one of the best-educated and most multi-lingual workforces in Europe. More than 90 percent of Lithuanian residents have a secondary or higher education.
More than 130 U.S. companies are located in Lithuania.
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