Press release, 1 August 2013
Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas, having met with Shimon Peres, President of Israel, on his state visit to Lithuania, underlined the necessity to boost bilateral youth relations.
The Speaker of the Seimas believes that the young generation must be aware of the history and its painful moments, so that when the time comes, they can build their own future, free of anti-Semitism, racial hatred, intolerance and other forms of extremism.
“A particular focus must be given to youth education and boosting of relations through sports, culture and other areas. This could be the target for the Lithuanian and Israeli Ministries of Education and Culture whose cooperation we seek to enhance. We hope that you will support these initiatives,” Mr Gedvilas said.
He also recalled that the Seimas had proclaimed 2013 the Year of Remembrance of the Vilnius Ghetto. The 70th anniversary of the liquidation of the Vilnius Ghetto will be marked in Lithuania and abroad in September. The leading event of the anniversary is the official ceremony of paying tribute to the victims of the Vilnius Ghetto in Paneriai. In addition, the Fourth World Litvak Congress will be held in September. “The Speaker of the Israeli Knesset is cordially invited to attend the Congress or visit Lithuania in any other time of his convenience and we kindly ask you to covey this invitation to him,” Mr Gedvilas said.
The Speaker of the Seimas expressed his appreciation of the growing economic cooperation between Lithuania and Israel as export and import volumes rise. He added that it was equally gratifying to know that the flow of tourists to Lithuania had almost doubled.
President Shimon Peres welcomed the idea of strengthening bilateral youth relations. The Israeli leader also stressed the importance of science, its precedence over politics and its independence of the size of a country.
Mr Peres also commended Lithuania for having passed the test of democracy on multiple occasions. He added that despite being a small country Lithuania had many reasons to feel proud, for example the current Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and Lithuanian victories in world sports championships.
Tomas Beržinskas, Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6019, mob. +370 698 42 786,
e-mail: [email protected]
