President Dalia Grybauskaitė extended congratulations on behalf of the Lithuanian people and on her own behalf to President Abdullah Gül on the 90th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey.

On 27-30 October, a delegation led by the Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Neris Germanas is paying a visit to Oman. Meetings discussed bilateral relations and opportunities to intensify them. The Foreign Vice-Minister travels with the delegation of Lithuanian businessmen.

The mass surveillance scandal and recent press reports on the tapping of European politicians' mobile phones are to be discussed with US authorities, by a civil liberties committee delegation to Washington from 28 to 30 October. "We will have the opportunity to discuss directly with US counterparts the alleged surveillance activities of US authorities and any impact they have in terms of EU citizens fundamental right to privacy," said Claude Moraes, who is the head of the delegation.

On 28 October in Vilnius, the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius will meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Laurent Fabius. On 29 October, L.Linkevičius will hold a meeting with Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation José Manuel García-Margallo.

Every year more than 100,000 people try to enter the EU without proper documents. In their desperation many of these illegal or irregular migrants fall victim to unscrupulous human traffickers and many never reach Europe's shores, as the recent tragedy off Lampedusa reminded us. On 23 October MEPs adopted a joint resolution calling for a coordinated and above all more humane approach to this European issue. Find out more about the migratory flows to Europe in our infographic.

Tragedies such as the drowning of would-be migrants off Lampedusa must mark a turning point for Europe. They can be prevented only by EU-coordinated efforts inspired by solidarity and responsibility, said Parliament on Wednesday, with a view to the 24-25 October EU summit. MEPs reiterate that EU member states have a legal duty to assist migrants in distress at sea and note that legal entry into the EU is preferable to a more dangerous irregular sort.

Citizens of Colombia, Peru and the United Arab Emirates should be able to travel to the Schengen area without a visa, said the Civil Liberties Committee on Monday, amending a draft update of the EU visa regulation to this effect. The Commission's initial proposal envisaged a visa waiver only for citizens of five Caribbean island nations, 10 Pacific island nations and Timor-Leste.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with the President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas. This is the first visit of the current Palestinian leader to Lithuania.

EU trade ministers have in the Foreign Affairs Council on October 18 in Luxembourg stressed the importance of signing or initialling free trade agreements with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova in the upcoming Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit and expressed concern about the Russian pressure. They also adopted the mandate to start negotiations on investment agreement with China.

At the 2013 United Nations Security Council election, which was held on 17 October in New York during the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Lithuania received a majority and won a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the 2014-2015 period. Lithuania was voted on by 187 countries.