“Lithuania is prepared to help Iceland in every possible way to get ready for the European Union membership,” head of Lithuania’s diplomacy said during the meeting with Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Ö.Skarphedinsson. Lithuania’s foreign minister also presented Lithuania’s propositions regarding political and technical assistance.

Minister V.Ušackas assured that Lithuania would seek for an agreement of the EU member states regarding Iceland’s application for the EU membership during the EU foreign ministers’ meeting on 27 July in Brussels and that Lithuania would actively support Iceland’s goals to open negotiation talks in 2010.

“Lithuania and Iceland are two sisters who are ready to help each other in the most important cases,” said Minister V.Ušackas. 

During the meeting with President of Iceland Ó.R.Grímsson, head of the Lithuanian diplomacy reminded about a historical decision by Iceland’s Parliament on 11 February 1991 to recognise Lithuania’s independence and presented the resolution that was adopted by Lithuania’s Seimas (Parliament) on 23 July 2009, in which a strong support to Iceland’s goals of joining the EU is declared.

“18 years later, Lithuania’s Parliament is returning at least some of the support to the people of Iceland that the whole of Lithuania had enjoyed in 1991,” said Minister V.Ušackas.

 During the meeting with chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs  Árni Thór Sigurdsson and its members, Minister V.Ušackas invited all political parties of Iceland to pursue the EU membership unanimously and presented the advantages of Lithuania’s EU membership.

Officials of Iceland stated that they were moved by Lithuania’s support to Iceland at this important moment and kindly accepted Lithuania’s assistance for preparation to the EU accession.

Minister V.Ušackas invited Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Ö.Skarphedinsson to visit Lithuania and conveyed and invitation from Speaker of Lithuania’s Seimas Arūnas Valinskas for the speaker of the Althingi (the Icelandic Parliament) to pay a visit to Lithuania. Iceland’s officials once again invited President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė to visit Iceland.

During the meetings, the cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic countries, the NATO and bilateral issues were discussed.

Minister of Foreign Affairs V.Ušackas conferred “The Star of Lithuania’s Millennium” on former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson for his merits to Lithuania.

Minister V.Ušackas also met with the Lithuanian Community in Iceland. The Minister invited Lithuanians to maintain a strong bond with Lithuania and to actively contribute to strengthening of relations between Lithuania and Iceland.