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Over the twenty years, Nordic and Baltic countries have become an affinity group, which shares everything from conflict resolution experience to life-long learning practices, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis said at the ongoing international conference on the Baltic-Nordic cooperation in Vilnius.

According to the Minister, Lithuania would not be what it is today without the assistance of Northern European countries.

“Today it is also our responsibility, the responsibility of the Baltic States, to help other countries that need our assistance, just like we did twenty years ago,” Minister A.Ažubalis said.

This year, Lithuania and Nordic countries mark the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of their diplomatic relations.

“The Nordic Council of Ministers Office also celebrates its 20th anniversary in Vilnius. We are grateful to the Office for a broader scope of cooperation spectrum: starting with the drawing-up of the Nordic-Baltic partnership agenda, internship programmes, non-governmental organizations, institutions and businesses’ projects, and ending with the promotion of Nordic films and other activities,” the Minister said.

The Minister said that in the previous year, the Nordic-Baltic cooperation format, the so-called NB8 that was established in 1992, received a new impetus – the informal Wise Men group was created. It visited all the NB8 countries - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland – and met with politicians, officials and the academic community, and produced a report on Baltic and Nordic cooperation with 38 recommendations. These recommendations focus on a closer cooperation for a more harmonious and effective development of the region.

Minister A.Ažubalis said that the first results reflecting these recommendations should be achieved already in this summer. It is expected that during the regional conference in Helsinki, which is due on 30 August and will be attended by all NB8 foreign ministers, the participants will sign an intergovernmental agreement on the exchange of diplomats posted to third countries.

“It is possible that one day our diplomats, making use of Nordic representations, will work even in such locations, where we would not be able to post them on our own - in Africa, Brazil or elsewhere. Likewise, Nordic diplomats will also be able to make use of our diplomatic representations in Moldova, Georgia or Armenia. Already today the European Union is creating a single External Action Service, but this does not prevent us from establishing a small NB8 foreign service of our own,” Minister A.Ažubalis said.

According to the Minister, when aiming to broaden relations between the societies in Nordic and Baltic countries, we must develop a single information space in the region. It would help the citizens of Lithuania to understand that Northern European countries are our immediate neighbours, and to emphasize the similarities of our cultures and values. The Minister believes that we could begin to create the information space with subtitled movies, a wide range of in-depth reportage and a plethora of television talk-shows.