News

    Lithuania's Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius met with Israel's prime minister and president in Tel Aviv on Tuesday to discuss radicalism threats in the Middle East and the rest of the world, exchanged opinions on economic and scientific cooperation.
    Kubilius and his Israeli counterpart, Benyamin Netanyahu, discussed joint efforts to diminish threats of radicalism during Lithuania's upcoming presidency over the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 2011 and over the European Union (EU) in 2013. In Kubilius' words, Israel that features an impressive degree of economic and scientific advancement is a very important partner to Lithuania, the prime minister's press service said. "This is witnessed by the expanded and versatile agenda over the past few years, a new quality phase of development with an active political and economic dialogue," the Lithuanian head of government was cited as saying.
    He noted that the IBM research center in Lithuania planned joint medical research with an analogous IBM center in Haifa, inviting Israeli businessmen to invest in Lithuania. Netanyahu noted that both Lithuania and Israel had won difficult struggles for their statehood. The Israeli PM inquired about the heritage of Litvaks, Jew originating from Lithuania, and the condition of memorial sites of the Vilnius Rabbi Gaon. In his words, Lithuania and Israel are small countries that share centuries of history.
    On Tuesday, Kubilius also met with Israel's President Shimon Peres who noted Lithuania's closeness to Israel and his heart. "Lithuania is important for our country's history. Vilnius with its warm Jewish community is very important for our nation," said the Israeli president. The meeting with Peres, born in the town of Asmena that is now part of Belarus close to Lithuania's border, also addressed a number of scientific topics. The Israeli leader said the number of scientists working in a country was more important than the country's area. "The coming 20-30 years will be marked by revolutionary changes, caused by scientific achievements. It is extremely important to combine them with morality, responsibility and wisdom," Peres said, noting the growing importance of education.
   In Kubilius' words, researchers in Lithuania are strong and globally competitive, but Lithuania still lacks what Israel has been successful in, i.e. translating scientific achievements and results into an attractive export commodity. "Your expertise in this respect would be very useful for us,” said the head of the Lithuanian government. The Israeli president thanked Kubilius for the consistent position of the Lithuanian Cabinet on the property restitution for the Jewish religious communities, as well as for the efforts in bringing a new quality to the bilateral relations. Peres invited the Lithuanian prime minister to attend an international conference to be held in June "Tomorrow," which should be attended by presidents and prime ministers of 25 countries.