News

On 2-3 May 2002, ministers, deputy ministers and state secretaries of CoE states will meet for the 110th session of the Ministerial Committee of the Council of Europe (CoE) held at the Contemporary Art Centre in Vilnius. The session will include 44 delegations of CoE member states, thirteen of them (Swedish, Macedonian, Latvian, Luxembourg, Maltese, Moldavian, Estonian, Finnish, Georgian, Andorran, Azerbaijani, Belgian, Bosnian and Herzegovinian) will be headed by foreign ministers. CoE Secretary General Walter Schwimmer, CoE Deputy Secretary General Hans Krüger, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly Bruno Haller, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe Llibert Cuatrecasas will participate in the session. Arab League Secretary General Amre Moussa, Commissioner for Human Rights Alvaro Gil-Robles, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and OSCE Secretary General Jan Kubiš are invited as special guests. On 2-3 May, bilateral meetings of Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis are planned with Foreign Ministers of Luxembourg, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Georgia, Malta, Moldova, Latvia and Deputy Foreign Minister of Italy. Lithuania is chairing at CoE Ministerial Committee from 8 November 2001 until 3 May 2002. It is Lithuania's first chairmanship in the Organisation. This is the second regular CoE ministerial session organised outside France since 1990. --- Mass media representatives, who intend to interview high authorities of foreign states and chiefs of international organisations during the session should apply to the Press Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania (Tel. 362451, 362453, 362454).