Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius attended the Summit of the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños, CELAC) from 25 to 27 January in Santiago, Chile. At the EU- CELAC Summit, Linkevičius, Alfredo Moreno Charme, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, and Eamon Gilmore, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, co-chaired an event “Submission of Civil Society Summit Conclusions to Ministers of Foreign Affairs”. The conclusions of the work of the EU-CELAC Academic Summit, Civil Society and Trade Unions forums, as well as new initiatives were presented at the event.

Linkevičius stressed that it was essential to engage not only heads of state in the EU-CELAC dialogue, but also representatives from broader layers of civil society. The Minister also noted that both Chile and Lithuania placed a strong emphasis on greater involvement of civil society in the activities of the Community of Democracies.

In the margins of the EU-CELAC Summit, Linkevičius met with Foreign Ministers of Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, El Salvador, Bolivia and Chile. The meetings discussed prospects for cooperation in the fields of business, education, science, culture, etc.