VILNIUS, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- In order to attract Lithuanian emigrants back, Lithuania must give all necessary assistance such as information about reintegration into society, the country's President Dalia Grybauskaite said on Tuesday after launching a campaign aimed at encouraging the expatriates to return.
"People tend to publicly announce about their decision to leave, however, they come back silently; this situation must change. The state must ensure that returning and establishing here is the success," Grybauskaite was quoted as saying in a presidency statement.
The campaign, named as Choose Lithuania, claims that the country's authorities, other institutions, non-governmental organizations and businesses should work together in order to attract the emigrants home.
"While we are travelling abroad and reading letters by our people, we can observe the trend that more and more of them are coming back and we will achieve the point when more are returning than leaving," Grybauskaite was quoted by local media as saying.
The measures aimed at keeping emigrants back home include the support in areas such as employment, dwelling, and child care.
During the campaign, the country's famous performers, business people, artists, writers and other local celebrities who chose to come back to Lithuania from abroad, will share their experiences with the society.
Lithuania's population in the last 25 years has decreased by a quarter, statistics show.
Data from Lithuania Statistics showed that 50,000 Lithuanians emigrated in 2016. In the first half this year, more than 31,000 Lithuanians declared their departure compared to more than 21,000 during the same period last year.
According to a poll conducted by local polling agency, Vilmorus, back in 2015, around 40 percent of Lithuanian emigrants are interested in coming back to their country.
