On 7 July in Vilnius, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis and Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman discussed bilateral political, economic and cultural cooperation, as well as possibilities to intensify economic, trade and tourist exchanges.
On 7 July in Vilnius, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis and Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman discussed bilateral political, economic and cultural cooperation, as well as possibilities to intensify economic, trade and tourist exchanges.
Israel has a well-developed high-tech industry and is open for cooperation in implementing bilateral projects with Lithuanian enterprises.
Minister A.Ažubalis highlighted that the Lithuanian-Israeli relations had reached a qualitatively new stage of development with the ongoing regular and active bilateral dialogue.
At the same time, according to Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, greater attention must be dedicated to cultural and educational exchanges between the Israeli and Lithuanian societies, and the dialogue between the youth and the societies of the two countries has to be expanded.
“Lithuania and Israel are linked by a special relationship, which is determined by the history that the two nations shared for seven hundred years. Lithuania’s history is unimaginable without the history of the Jewish community, which was an integral part of the Lithuanian society and contributed to the development of science, economy and culture,” head of Lithuania’s diplomacy said.
Minister A.Ažubalis also expressed trust that Israel would open its Embassy in Lithuania at an early date.
The Ministers discussed the development of relations between the European Union and Israel, Lithuanian-Israeli contacts within international organizations and the issues of the Middle East.
Head of Lithuania’s diplomacy said that the country regarded Israel as its partner in the Middle East, whose expertise was very important for Lithuania’s upcoming Presidency of the European Union in 2013.
Lithuania approves of deepening the EU-Israel relations and also stresses that the cooperation between the EU and Israel should be advanced not only in the spheres of bilateral interests, but also with the aim for the common goal - peace in the Middle East.
Minister A.Ažubalis expressed the EU’s common position on the Middle East Peace Process that aimed at a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace in the future. The Minister also stressed that Lithuania recognized Israel’s legitimate security concern and the country’s right to self-defense, and also urged Israel to comply with the fundamental human rights provisions.
Minister A.Liberman invited Minister A.Ažubalis to pay a visit to Israel.
Israel’s Foreign Minister is visiting Lithuania for the first time since the restoration of Lithuania’s Independence.