Press releases 

10 December

 

Speaker of the Seimas Arūnas Valinskas held a meeting with the ambassadors of other states residing in Lithuania.

 

“Lithuania is a parliamentary republic, and our Constitution provides for the powers of the Seimas concerning the formation of foreign policy. I will contribute to strengthening the relations and contacts with EU and NATO parliamentarians; it is my personal priority. Maintaining good neighbourhood relations is very important. We will develop a consistent and pragmatic policy based on the principles of equality and transparency,” Mr. Valinskas stated.

 

Diplomatic representatives, who attended the meeting, congratulated the Speaker of the Seimas on his new functions and assured him that the ambassadors were always ready to discuss the most relevant issues concerning both Lithuania and the countries they represent with the Head of the Lithuanian Parliament.

 

The ambassadors also asked questions relating to both internal and foreign policy. Diplomats were interested in the public spirit of Lithuanians and their activeness in the elections, the issues of drawing up the budget and overcoming the crisis, the Lithuanian investment policy, and the action line concerning the development of relations with Japan, and discussed the plans to build a nuclear power plant in the Kaliningrad region.

 

The Speaker of the Seimas firmly expressed Lithuania’s position concerning the support for Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine in their international integration process.

“Lithuania may not only support these states, but also share its experience, however painful it may be, in seeing membership of NATO and the European Union,” the Speaker of the Seimas stated.

 

When summing up the meeting, Mr. Valinskas assured the ambassadors that “Our hearts are open to your goodwill, and our state borders are open to your investments.”

 

Deputy Seimas Speakers Irena Degutienė, Raimondas Šukys, Česlovas Vytautas Stankevičius and Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis also attended the meeting.

 

                                                                                    Spokesperson to the Speaker of the Seimas

Indrė Viržintė