During the meeting with the new Ambassador to Sweden, the Head of State discussed strategic areas of Lithuania’s cooperation with Sweden in defense and security, economic cooperation, education and science, and culture. According to the President, it is of particular importance that Sweden become a full member of NATO as soon as possible, which would significantly strengthen the security of the Baltic region and would open the doors for even closer defense cooperation. According to Gitanas Nausėda, it is important that the Swedish air force join the NATO rotational air policing mission and contribute to the air defense of the Baltic States in the future. The President also added that it is necessary to continue and strengthen cooperation with Sweden on EU policy issues such as the EU internal market, support for Ukraine, transatlantic integration, EU’s defense and security industry policy, border protection, science and innovation policy. “We need to further strengthen the cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic countries, as well as the bilateral relations between Lithuania and Sweden in the fields of economy, education and science, especially in life sciences, information and financial technologies, and renewable energy,” President Gitanas Nausėda pointed out.
In his meeting with the new Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe, the President discussed the main areas of activity and Lithuania’s priorities in the preparation for the Lithuanian presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, which will begin its work in May next year. The Head of State stressed that Lithuania’s leadership in consolidating and strengthening the Council of Europe’s support for Ukraine has to remain a top priority. The President also added that it was important to ensure Lithuania’s significant contribution to the legislative processes of the Council of Europe in terms of developing and implementing international standards of democratic practices, the rule of law, and human rights.
