The President of Iran pointed out that the country aimed to modernise its economy and expressed hope that Lithuania and Iran would be able to strengthen relations among innovative sectors, including in the fields of information technology, eGovernment projects and biotechnology.
“Lithuanian exporters of goods and services are interested in the country’s market. Hopefully, as the inter-agency cooperation continues, more Lithuanian meat exporters will get permits to import to Iran in the short run,” said Linkevičius.
In the meeting, the officials also discussed the threat posed by terrorism and extremism, security issues in the region, and international relations.
For a long time due to Iran’s nuclear programme, there were no bilateral relations between Lithuania and Iran at a political level. The E3+3 nuclear deal with Iran has enabled the countries to strengthen mutual trust and intensive political and economic relations with Iran. In 2013, the first political consultation between the Foreign Ministries’ Directors of regional departments took place in Vilnius. The second political consultation was held in Tehran in 2014. This is the first visit of Lithuania’s Foreign Minister to Iran.
This year marks the 25th anniversary since Iran officially recognized Lithuania’s independence on 10 September 1991 and acknowledged that the 1930 Agreement of Friendship between the Republic of Lithuania and the Persian Empire was in force. Diplomatic relations were officially established on 4 November 1993.
From 3 May 2016, the Ambassador to Turkey Audrius Brūzga, who resides in Ankara, is Lithuania’s representative in Iran. From 23 July 2014, the Ambassador Ramin Mehmanparast Nodehi, who resides in Warsaw, is Iran’s representative in Lithuania.
In the first official meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries, Zarif expressed hope that this visit would open a new page in intergovernmental relations and would lay the foundation for fostering more systematic cooperation. Linkevičius drew attention to the fact that Lithuanian businessmen took interest in Iran’s market and called on the country’s institutions to create conditions to take advantage of new business opportunities. Iran’s Foreign Minister noted that agriculture was a natural field of cooperation between the countries, Iran also took interest in cooperation in the fields of education, science and technology, telecommunications, and the strengthening of the relationship between the two nations through the promotion of cultural exchanges and tourism was also very important.
The Iranian Foreign Minister expressed hope that the newly-elected Iranian Parliament that had convened for its first session on the day of the Foreign Ministers’ meeting would resume activities of the Iran-Lithuania Parliamentary Friendship Group.
The Foreign Ministers also exchanged opinions on security situation in hotspots, especially in eastern Ukraine, Syria, and Iraq, and discussed the new common threats – the spread of terrorism and extremism.
At the end of the meeting, the Foreign Ministers of Lithuania and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral consultations between the Foreign Ministries.
“This is not just a formal document. It opens a new page in political relations between Lithuania and Iran. Our nations have always maintained friendly relations without any ‘dark spots’ in the fabric of their bilateral ties. We are grateful that Iran was among the first countries that officially recognized Lithuania’s independence (on 10 September 1991) after the coup attempt in Moscow and acknowledged that the 1930 Agreement of Friendship between the Republic of Lithuania and the Persian Empire was in force,” said Linkevičius.
In the meeting with Linkevičius, Iran’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology Vaezi expressed his gladness that namely he was the Foreign Minister at the time when Iran officially recognized Lithuania’s independence in 1991.
Vaezi said that the Iranian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology was familiar with and highly appreciated Lithuania’s Information Technology sector and products developed by enterprises in the field. Iran is interested in the e-governance, e-commerce and e-health software, and Information Technology platforms developed by Lithuanian companies, programmes for the protection of networks developed by Lithuanian experts, as well as cooperation in the field of cyber security.
The Iranian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology is ready to mediate the strengthening ties between the Iranian and Lithuanian information technology companies. The Minister Vaezi conveyed an invitation to the Lithuanian Minister of Transport and Communications to visit Iran.
