At the beginning of her welcome address, the Speaker of the Seimas congratulated the diplomats on the 25th anniversary of the reestablishment of Lithuanian diplomatic service and the resumption of diplomatic relations. “While congratulating you, I thank those present and those away. It was your 25-year-long consistent work, devout dedication, and knowledge that have contributed to the recognition of our country, the development of its diplomatic relations, and the promotion of the country abroad. I thank you for the possibility to hold our heads high on 11 March last year on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of our independence and to proudly say that we are equal partners in the diplomatic arena. That is to your credit and to the credit of your tremendous work,” the Speaker of the Seimas said.
In her welcome address, the Speaker of the Seimas underlined the role of parliamentary diplomacy and encouraged the diplomats to engage in more active cooperation with parliamentarians who have extensive experience in international activities. When focussing on the cooperation between diplomats abroad and the key Lithuanian state institutions, the Speaker of the Seimas noted the importance of dialogue and listening to others. “We have to listen and hear each other,” Mrs Graužinienė said and stressed that this was crucial bearing in mind the current complicated geopolitical situation.
When addressing the activities and priorities over the recent years, the Speaker of the Seimas highlighted the importance of the Eastern Partnership and shared her insights and impressions from her most important visits over the past year to Ukraine, Germany, Japan, and the United States of America. Mrs Graužinienė also expressed her appreciation that Lithuania was often praised in Europe as the country that had taken strategic steps to strengthen energy security of not only Lithuania but also the entire region.
The Speaker of the Seimas also focussed on the importance of Lithuanian communities abroad and the possibility of cooperating with them in various formats. “Every Lithuanian community abroad has a strong inner feeling of Lithuanian identity and demonstrates willingness to be useful to Lithuania. We must therefore help them,” Mrs Graužinienė said. She also expressed her request that the programmes of foreign visits of Lithuanian leadership or Members of Parliament would include meetings with Lithuanian communities abroad. “A community may be sparse and may consist of a few people only, but the meetings with them are very important,” the Speaker of the Seimas was convinced.
At the end of the meeting, Mrs Graužinienė said, “In this challenging period of time, as we work for the sake of Lithuania’s future, our main task is to preserve what has already been achieved.”
