According to Linkevičius, Sweden is an important and reliable partner of Lithuania. The two countries enjoy their especially close cooperation in the fields of economy, energy security, regional security, defence, and other areas. The important bilateral cooperation also focuses on the Eastern Partnership countries such as Ukraine and Moldova. Lithuanian and Swedish officials have organised and conducted bilateral visits to the countries, and jointly launched a programme to support schools in eastern Ukraine.
The Swedish royal couple’s state visit in October 2015 was a crowning moment for the especially important bilateral relationship and partnership. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Lithuania and Sweden.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister also congratulated Sweden on its election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2017-2018. Linkevičius also stressed that Lithuania aimed to work closely with Sweden to address issues, which were important for our region and the international community as a whole.
On 5 July, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the outgoing Ambassador of Estonia to Lithuania Toomas Kukk. In the meeting, the diplomats discussed bilateral cooperation between Estonia and Lithuania, the upcoming NATO Summit in Warsaw, possible consequences of the United Kingdom’s EU referendum, energy security and other international agenda items.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister thanked the Ambassador for his active personal contribution to the development of close and friendly ties between Lithuania and Estonia. Linkevičius stressed that the two countries enjoyed excellent bilateral relations and cooperated very closely in various fields. Linkevičius noted that Estonia was an important partner of Lithuania in the region, the European Union, NATO and other international organisations. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Lithuania and Estonia.
As regards energy security, the Estonian Ambassador said that one of the biggest achievements was the launch of Lithuania’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Klaipėda, which had a great impact on energy security not just in Lithuania, but also in Estonia. The Ambassador also highlighted the importance of Lithuania’s entry into the euro zone, which had enabled a more active bilateral economic relationship between Lithuania and Estonia.
Linkevičius said that uncertainty after Britain’s EU referendum benefitted no one, so the role of the Baltic-Nordic cooperation to adjust their positions and to protect the countries’ interests, as well as the unity of the 27 EU member states became even more pronounced.
As regards the relationship with Russia, the situation in Ukraine and the implementation of the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative, the diplomats noted that Lithuanian and Estonian positions on these issues were very similar.
