News

The Lithuanian delegation, led by the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Neris Germanas, ended its visit in Israel. The delegation attended the 4th International Conference of the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism where N. Germanas made a keynote address. During the visit to Israel, the Lithuanian Foreign Vice-Minister also met with Israel’s Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Foreign Vice-Minister Zeev Elkin, and Director General of World Jewish Congress Robert Singer.

During the meetings, Lithuanian-Israeli bilateral relations were very positively assessed by the Israeli representatives. A special appreciation was expressed for the law on Good Will Compensation for the immovable Property of Jewish Religious Communities, adopted by Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, and for the efforts to preserve historic and cultural heritage of the Lithuanian Jewish community. During the meetings, vice-minister Neris Germanas stated that over the past three years, Lithuanian-Israeli bilateral relations became a partnership based on a constructive agenda.

During the meetings, the official visit of the Lithuanian Foreign minister Linas Linkevičius which took place on May 18-22, as well as the upcoming visit of the President of the State of Israel Shimon Peres (July 31 – August 2, 2013), were discussed.

Israeli representatives also expressed Israel’s attention to upcoming Lithuanian Presidency in the European Union during which Israel counts on Lithuanian role in promoting EU-Israel relationship, as well as objective evaluation of the situation in the region.

Also, the opportunities of economic cooperation and tourism development were discussed. It was noted that during the last three years, bilateral trade and tourism volumes have doubled.