The coming political autumn will start with a historic trip to the United States - a visit of special significance for Lithuania's energy security. On August 30, President Dalia Grybauskaitė will be visiting Washington where she will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House. Taking part will also be the Presidents of Latvia and Estonia. This will be the first official meeting between the three Baltic Presidents and the President of the United States after Lithuania's, Latvia's and Estonia's accession to NATO in 2004. The Presidents will discuss ways to further strengthen cooperation in military and energy security fields, the role of the Baltic States within the European Union, relations with Russia and Eastern Partnership countries, as well as negotiations between the European Union and the United States for the world's largest free trade agreement. A joint statement of the Presidents of the Baltic countries and the United States will be issued after the meeting.
On September 12-13, President Dalia Grybauskaitė will make an official visit to Brussels where she will meet for the first time with King Philippe of Belgium.
In Brussels, the President will also open a gala cultural event to celebrate the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The world famous Lithuanian opera diva Violeta Urmanavičiūtė-Urmana and the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra will perform on the concert stage at the Bozar Centre for Fine Arts. King Philippe, EU leaders, foreign diplomats, influential EU media representatives, as well as members of the Belgian academic and arts communities will be among the audience.
On September 20, Dalia Grybauskaitė Grybauskaitė as leader of the EU presiding member state is going to attend an international Yalta conference held to discuss Ukraine's European perspective. In Yalta, Dalia Grybauskaitė will meet with President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine. Ukraine's eurointegration is in the common interest of the EU as a whole, so the President's visit to Ukraine and her meeting with Viktor Yanukovych will be an important step towards resolving outstanding issues before the Vilnius Summit where the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement is planned for signature.
At the end of September, President Dalia Grybauskaitė will take part in the general debate at the UN General Assembly in New York which will focus on helping the developing countries. This year Lithuania is running for non-permanent UN Security Council membership. In New York, the President will meet with former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to present her with the Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great awarded in recognition of personal merits to enhancing bilateral relations between Lithuania and the United States.