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S.E.M Edwardas Borisovas, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the UN and other IO in Geneva, has accepted to answer to few questions about his native country and about his role as an ambassador

What is your role as ambassador for Lithuania? Describe a typical day in the post?

The ambassador represents his country and its highest officials in a very complicated system of international organizations based in Geneva. He conveys positions of his country and presents arguments to defend these positions, he communicates with colleagues trying to find solutions acceptable for everybody despite that sometimes it seems impossible. Ambassador leads the Permanent Mission and organizes its job by establishing priorities and leading diplomats in completing tasks defined by interests of our country. The day of ambassador is filled by different meetings and events. The beginning of a day as usual is dedicated to consultations with colleagues in the Mission to define what problems could be encountered in various meetings in different organizations before diplomats leave to respective coordination and plenary meetings. Afterwards I check e-mails, read correspondence and allocate received papers to colleagues. Short glimpse to internet what are the news in the world and in Lithuania helps a lot to keep understanding in what realities our job is performed. As usual this order of the day is amended by participating in coordination meetings of heads of missions of the EU, meetings of the regional group or plenary sessions where matters of importance to us are discussed. Just to remind you that there are 219 diplomatic representations in Geneva and all of them are trying to represent their countries at their best. Time after the lunch is mostly dedicated to reading and analyzing documents, consulting with colleagues in the Ministry how better to present our views in discussions and what position should be taken on one or another issue. It also takes time to send written information what are major developments in different organizations scattered around Geneva.

How long have you been based in Switzerland? Could you give an idea of your impressions of the country, its advantages and/or disadvantages compared to your other postings, and in comparison to Lithuania?

This is my second term in Geneva. So, altogether I have spend almost seven years in this very calm city surrounded by unimaginable beauty of mountains and the lake. I assumed position of ambassador in July 2005. This is very difficult to compare places where you spend unforgettable moments of your life. Even the job performed and tasks fulfilled were so different that sometimes you wish to do something more narrow and deep, dedicating yourself to one particular theme. I really doubt that in our job this is possible but this is completely impossible here in Geneva where you are obliged to follow so many issues at once.

I always like calm, order and predictability of Switzerland. At the same time I am always longing for vitality and permanently changing appearance of Central and Eastern European cities – Warsaw, Prague and Sankt Petersburg, where I have spent parts of my diplomatic career. Being abroad I strongly miss Lithuania and being back home I always have things to remember from places of previous appointments. It is really difficult to compare and adjudicate even people not speaking about cities or countries.

Could you tell me a little about your home country and its culture? What is Lithuania's position on the 'chess-board' of international diplomacy today? And in relation to Europe, in particular?

It is very difficult to describe in few words what have been loved for your whole life. Lithuania was extorted from oblivion to surprise many not only by its appearance but also by its performance. What was unthinkable for many in 1991 was achieved in less than fifteen years. Lithuania became member of the European Union and NATO in 2004. These events changed geopolitical situation not only for Lithuania but also for our neighbors radically. This is a huge advantage but at the same time also an enormous responsibility to belong to these clubs. National interests of your country are coordinated with interests of others at the same time influencing common decisions. This is inevitably two way traffic where nobody dictates, nobody is willing to be dictated but everybody is seeking consensus suitable for all. The EU is a big and respected player on multilateral stage so it is acting accordingly by presenting and defending its positions.

The next year is very commemorative for Lithuania. We will celebrate the Millennium of mentioning of Lithuania’s name in written chronicles –the Annals of Quedlinburg. Vilnius has been selected the European cultural capital of 2009. I really believe that there will be plenty of very interesting events in Lithuania next year. At the same time it is necessary to mention that Lithuania is well known by its beauty. The Old Town of Vilnius and unique sandy Curonian Spit are world heritage sites protected by UNESCO. There are 3000 lakes in Lithuania with names and more than 4000 of lakes not named yet. Moderate hills are covered by lush green of forests and dunes are dazzling with white sand. Castles built in XIV century are silent witnesses of country’s mighty past and baroque architecture shows abilities of its ancient masters. You can spend hours circling narrow streets of Vilnius Old Town trying to visit all catholic and orthodox churches, monasteries, synagogues and even kenassas – house of prayer of caraites. This ethnicity consists only of 300 people. This is Lithuania in just few words but trust me there could be many many more words to describe Lithuania’s beauty and many more places to visit. Welcome to Lithuania.