News

On 29 August in Oslo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius continued his visit to Norway and met with the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende and the Minister of Children and Equality Solveig Horne.

In the meeting with the head of the Norwegian diplomacy, Linkevičius thanked Norway for planning to send troops next year. Norway has announced its intentions to contribute to the implementation of NATO’s agreement of the Warsaw Summit on the presence of the Spearhead Force in the eastern part of the Alliance, as well as to the formation by Germany of a NATO battalion group in Lithuania.

“We very much appreciate the solidarity of Norway that will further strengthen our bilateral relations,” Linkevičius thanked his counterpart.

In the meeting, the officials also discussed energy security and gas supply to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Klaipėda. Linkevičius expressed gladness about an increased and stable gas supply from Norway, and reiterated his invitation to Norway to think about more opportunities for small businesses to make use of the LNG terminal. They also discussed the situation in Turkey and sanctions against Russia. Both Foreign Ministers agreed that at the time there was no possibility of reviewing sanctions against Russia.

In the meeting with the Minister of Children and Equality Horne, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister thanked Norway for ratifying the Convention of 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children. The Convention entered into force on 1 July 2016 in Norway. The Foreign Ministers agreed that it was purposeful to hold a meeting of representatives of the new Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs and the Lithuanian State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service in the nearest future to discuss ensuring more direct contacts and the effectiveness of the cooperation in protecting the interests of the child.

Horne informed Linkevičius about the new developments in Norway after the entry into force of the Convention and about the opportunities that were opening up for international cooperation, such as the appointment of close relatives as temporary guardians for a child in the child’s country of origin.

“The conversation was very friendly and constructive. Both Lithuania and Norway agree that the main objective is to open up new possibilities to be able to both faster solve the arising problems and to work together for prevention through the protection of the interests of the child and through closer inter-institutional cooperation. The Norwegian Minister was very satisfied with the existing cooperation with the Lithuanian community in Norway,” said Linkevičius.

During his visit to Norway, Lithuania’s Foreign Minister also met with representatives of Lithuanian communities in Stavanger and Oslo.

“We sincerely appreciate the activities of Lithuanians living in Norway aimed to foster the Lithuanian identity – the language, traditions – and to present Lithuania in Norway,” thanked Linkevičius. He also called on Lithuanian professionals in Norway to actively cooperate with Lithuania, to share their experiences, to promote the name of Lithuania and to expand the Lithuanian-Norwegian ties in the fields of business, science, culture and in other areas.

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister also called on Lithuanians living in Norway to actively register to vote in the elections to the Seimas on 9 October 2016 and noted that every citizen’s vote was necessary and important.