Lithuania President urges control amid rising immigration concerns

Vilnius, Sep 3 (IANS) Lithuania President Gitanas Nauseda has raised concerns about the growing number of immigrants entering the country, urging for measures to manage the situation, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported on Tuesday.

“Uncontrolled immigration is first and foremost a national security issue,” Nauseda was quoted as saying.

While acknowledging the demand for labour to boost productivity and business growth, the President expressed his support for “a strict quota system”, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nauseda also highlighted that the number of immigrants in Lithuania has surged to a “critically high-level relative to our total population” since 2020.

“It is truly time for us to rein in the horses,” he said.

According to the Interior Ministry, the number of foreigners living in Lithuania surpassed 2,00,000 for the first time in the nation’s history last year. The Employment Service reported that the number of foreign workers, mainly from Belarus, increased by 65 per cent in 2023, reaching 1,42,000.

–IANS

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