Akmenė FEZ CEO Lina Mockutė at the ILTE Forum panel discussion

The ILTE Forum, organized for the first time by the national development bank ILTE, took place on February 12, 2026, bringing together the country’s economists, academics, business leaders and top level experts to assess Lithuania’s economic potential and highlight the most important long term development directions.

Akmenė FEZ CEO Lina Mockutė also participated in the discussion titled “From the conveyor belt to code: how technological breakthroughs can modernize traditional industry” held during the event.

At the panel, L. Mockutė spoke about the fact that the Akmenė FEZ stands out in Lithuania not only as the newest free zone, but probably also as the most modern one. The very first company launched here five years ago with an investment of EUR 146 million and 146 employees, a ratio that demonstrates high efficiency and, consequently, a high level of industrial modernity. This is particularly impressive in the relatively small and remote Akmenė region.

However, she noted that such investments are easier for large businesses to make, while small and medium-sized companies aiming to operate more efficiently have a strong interest in various support instruments. Lina also emphasised that it is always important to have not only advanced manufacturing equipment, but also a workforce with the right qualifications to operate it. Therefore, she suggested considering the establishment of reskilling and competence centres close to workplaces.

Mockutė also welcomed the fact that the Akmenė FEZ, initially “kick-started” by one large business group, is today turning into a true ecosystem with new companies attracted by its scale, modern infrastructure and partnerships. With almost EUR 0.5 billion in investments already attracted, the Akmenė free economic zone is expecting to welcome its thousandth employee this year.

We thank Kristijonas Vizbaras, Benediktas Girdvainis and Giedrė Gečiauskienė for an insightful discussion, and Edmundas Jakilaitis for smoothly moderating it.