May 6 President Adamkus had a meeting with King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain on a two-day state visit to Lithuania. Issues discussed in the meeting included bilateral cooperation, European Union and Eastern Partnership, and energy issues.

President Adamkus underlined that despite the geographic distance between them Lithuania and Spain were linked by shared catholic values and were close partners within the European Union and NATO and were both actively cooperating in the field of culture.

The Head of State noted that Lithuanians were very much interested in the Spanish culture, as demonstrated by universities and schools offering trainings courses of the Spanish language and culture and inter-university exchanges of students.

Most focus in the meeting was on the issue of energy security. President Adamkus was informed of the situation in Spain's energy sector.

Diversity of energy sources in Spain is a perfect example for Lithuania of how this sector should be managed. Spain's experience in developing liquefied gas technologies and in diversifying energy resources would be greatly valuable to Lithuania, the President said.

The King of Spain talked about the priorities set by Spain for its upcoming Presidency of the EU in the first half of the next year. The President underlined the importance for Lithuania to learn from Spain's future experience of the EU Presidency as Lithuania was preparing to take over the EU Presidency in 2013.

The Spanish Monarch said that Spain was very much interested in Lithuania's political input in the EU's relations with its Eastern neighbours.

The discussion in the meeting also concerned the tomorrow's summit of the EU and Eastern neighbours and the planned agenda for the Eastern Partnership. President Adamkus noted that both Spain and Lithuania were actively seeking to develop partnership in the EU's neighbouring countries: Spain to the south, and Lithuania to the east of the EU.

The King of Spain was also interested in Lithuania's position towards its relations with Eastern neighbours which were important for the whole Europe. As pointed out by President Adamkus, seeking to expand the open and democratic space towards the East, the European Union should strengthen the civic society in Belarus, and direct contacts are very important in this regard, and we must seek to facilitate visa regime for Belarusian citizens.

The King and the President also talked about relations with Russia. The King of Spain was interested in Lithuania's opinion and experience in arranging the EU-Russian Summit during its presidency.

Lithuania's President welcomed the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by the Czech Republic. Hopefully, by the time Spain takes over the EU Presidency this Treaty will finally enter into force allowing Spain to take the necessary actions in this difficult economic period, the President said.

From the Presidential Palace the Spanish Royal Couple accompanied by President Adamkus went to the Antakalnis Cemetery to honour the memory of Lithuanians who died in the fight for freedom.

Later, the King of Spain had a meeting with Lithuania's Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius.

In the evening, President Adamkus will host a state dinner to the honour of H.M. King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia. The toasts to be raised by the President of Lithuania and the King of Spain will be broadcasted live on the Lithuanian National Television.

Today, the King of Spain will meet with Speaker of the Seimas Arūnas Valinskas and representatives of the main parliamentary political parties. The Royal Couple will also visit the University of Vilnius, where they will inspect two exhibitions displayed in the P. Smuglevičius Hall: "History of the Lithuanian Press: From the First Lithuanian Book 1547", and "Hispania Antiqua", a collection of antique maps and books related to Spain compiled by the Library of the University of Vilnius. In the University, the King and the Queen will have a meeting with students of Vilnius University and the European Humanities University as well as the Spanish community of Lithuania.

The state visit by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia in Lithuania will be concluded by a lunch of the Spanish Royal Couple and the President and the First Lady of Lithuania in Trakai, after which the Spanish monarch and his spouse will leave for Madrid.