Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins and Foreign Minister of Lithuania discuss co-operation between diplomatic services of both countries [24 Feb 2010]

On 24 February, Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Audronius Azubalis, who was in Latvia on his first visit after taking up office.

During the meeting, the ministers discussed live issues in relations between Latvia and Lithuania, and expressed gratification at common understanding of their objectives within EU and NATO.

The ministers reviewed co-operation between diplomatic services of both countries and looked at the possibilities to establish joint embassies in foreign countries. "In the nearest future, expert consultations will be launched to assess possibilities of setting up embassy facilities shared by diplomats both from Latvia and Lithuania. Latvia has positive experience of working together with Estonia: since January, the diplomatic representations of both countries are jointly renting facilities in Cairo, the capital of the Arab Republic of Egypt, thus contributing to the optimisation of administrative costs," Minister Riekstins pointed out. The ministers also noted possibilities for setting up shared diplomatic representations of the Baltic states.

The Latvian and Lithuanian Foreign Ministers also debated possibilities of closer co-operation Between Baltic and Nordic countries, given that Latvia is this year's co-ordinator for co-operation among the foreign ministries of NB-8 (Nordic – Baltic – Eight: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). The parties looked into progress with the Latvia-Lithuania sea border agreement, noted the work accomplished by experts and expressed their commitment to continued efforts.

When reviewing the agenda of the European Union, Mr Riekstins and Mr Azubalis discussed the topics in relation to the common interests of Latvia and Lithuania in the newly-established European External Action Service (EEAS). The parties agreed that the competence of the EEAS should also include the function of consular assistance to the EU citizens in third countries. Next, the ministers emphasised the necessity to ensure an adequate representation of member states in the EEAS.

Ministers Riekstins and Azubalis exchanged opinions on the NATO agenda and the progress with developing the new strategic concept. The ministers also talked about energy and security policy.

Before starting his tenure as Foreign Minister on 11 February 2010, Mr Audronius Azubalis had been a journalist and a deputy of the Seimas for three terms, during which time he was Head of the Lithuanian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Mr Azubalis also was Deputy Chairman and, since 2008, Chairman of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs. Lithuania's new Foreign Minister is a member of the Homeland Union - Lithuanian Christian Democrats Party.

(End of text)