At the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting 2017 of OSCE participating states in Warsaw on 21 September, Lithuania together with its international partners convened a meeting, entitled ‘LGBTI persons outside the Law in Chechnya (Russia). What should be the international community’s  reaction?’ The side event focused on recent hate crimes committed against LGBTI persons in Chechnya.

On 19 September, the Ambassador of Lithuania to the Holy See and the Sovereign Order of Malta Petras Zapolskas presented his letters of credence to the Lieutenant of the Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto.

At the Community of Democracies (CoD) Governing Council Ministerial meeting in Washington D.C., on 15 September, the Lithuanian delegation was headed by the Ambassador of Lithuania to the United States of America Rolandas Kriščiūnas.

The session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention on 14 September in Montenegro admitted that Belarus, when developing the Ostrovets nuclear power plant (NPP) project, had violated the right of the public under this Convention to receive information and to participate in environmental decision-making. Thus, it  has been acknowledged for the 3rd time that Belarus does not comply with its international obligations under the Aarhus Convention.

On 14 September, the Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Ambassador Ričardas Šlepavičius presented his letters of credence to José Graziano da Silva, Director General of FAO.

During the 22nd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in China, Lithuania was elected to the Executive Council for 2018-2021 for the first time and re-elected as the Vice-Chairman of the Regional Commission for Europe. 

Polish and Lithuanian relations have recently improved. They share longtime history, are NATO and EU members and it turns out that they perceive their common problems similarly. We talked to the foreign minister of Lithuania Linas Linkeviczius about threats and opportunities of the neighbouring countries.

The Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Neris Germanas attended an informal meeting of EU Ministers Responsible for Development on 11 September in Tallinn, which focused on further cooperation between the European Union and middle-income countries.

On 11 September, the Permanent Representative of Lithuania, Ambassador Irena Vaišvilaitė presented her letters of credence to the Secretary General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF) Michaëlle Jean. The Ambassador will serve as the Lithuanian President’s personal representative to this organization.

Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has allocated EUR 10,000 in humanitarian aid to the International Committee of the Red Cross for Sierra Leone. In 2017, Lithuania allocated EUR 220,000 in humanitarian aid for persons affected by conflicts and natural disasters in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Mali and Sri Lanka.