In the conversations with the First Deputy Speaker of the Swedish Riksdag (Parliament) Tobias Billström, members of the Parliamentary Baltic Network group and the Foreign Ministers of Sweden, Latvia and Estonia, Linkevičius thanked Sweden for its long-term support for Lithuania on the path toward statehood.
“It is symbolic, but namely on the island of Gotland in Sweden on 6 August 1989 famous figures from Lithuania and Lithuanians from all over the world signed the Communiqué, which paved the way to the re-establishment of the state of Lithuania,” said Lithuania’s Foreign Minister.
According to Linkevičius, Sweden was the first to open its Embassy in Vilnius (on 29 August 1991) after the restoration of Lithuania’s independence.
“As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, we can be glad that the countries in the Baltic-Nordic region are linked by a trustful partnership, the promotion of democratic values, people’s welfare, and security objectives. We are of one mind and we strive for solidarity when addressing many challenges facing our region and issues, which are important for the international community,” said Linkevičius.
The meetings also focused on the security situation in the region, the most important items on the EU’s agenda, including the forthcoming withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the challenges of migration, international threats to be taken into account when preparing the Global Strategy for European Foreign and Security Policy, relations with Russia, the situation in Ukraine, cooperation in the United Nations, and the situation in Turkey.
Linkevičius also participated in the seminar “Freedom of the Press and Free Speech: Defending Our Democratic Values” and met with representatives of the Lithuanian community in Sweden.
