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On the occasion of the celebration of the 103rd anniversary of Lithuania's diplomatic service, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis conferred a symbolic Diplomat of the Year Award on Justina Jakavonytė in recognition of her “great acts of courage and dedication". Jakavonytė helped to evacuate our Afghan allies - interpreters and translators, who had worked with Lithuania, and their families -  from Kabul”.

Landsbergis congratulated diplomats and stressed that they were always at the epicentre of all the most important historical events in Lithuania, and that it was an honored to work together with such people dedicated to Lithuania and their work.

“When we work together, we are writing the new history of Lithuania. We have recently opened a new page in our relations with Taiwan. We are also writing the Indo-Pacific strategy — and these are the pages of Lithuania's history in the 21st century,” said the Foreign Minister.

The President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, the Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Čimilytė-Nielsen, the Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, and the Chairman of the Supreme Council-Reconstituent Seimas Vytautas Landsbergis also congratulated Lithuanian diplomats on the celebration of the anniversary.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania was established on 7 November 1918, when Augustinas Voldemaras assumed the post of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania. Lithuania's diplomatic service has continuously operated since 1918. A hundred years ago, in 1921, Lithuania joined the Union of Nations as a recognized member of the international community. In that year, the country established diplomatic relations with Argentina and Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland.