News

On 7 October during the visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania Antanas Valionis in the Arab Republic of Egypt, a Lithuanian Embassy was officially opened. The Embassy in Cairo has been working since December 2001, yet the official inauguration had been postponed until the Foreign Minister’s visit. On this occasion, a reception was hosted at the Embassy attended by Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher and members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Cairo. Lithuania is the first among the Baltic States to have opened a diplomatic mission not only in Egypt, but also in the entire Arab world. Earlier on the same day, 7 October, a meeting of the chiefs of Lithuanian and Egyptian diplomacies was held. According to the Egyptian Foreign Minister, the development of economic, political, and cultural ties with Lithuania is pursued with a view to Lithuania’s forthcoming accession to the European Union. A similar point was made during Minister Valionis’ meetings with Egyptian Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Youssef Boutros-Ghali, Chief Political Adviser to the Egyptian President Osama El Baz, Deputy Speaker of Egyptian People's Assembly Amal Osman and Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa. At the meeting with Deputy Chair of the Committee of Foreign, Arab and National Security Affairs of the Egyptian Parliament Mohammed Bassiouny, opinions were exchanged on issues of bilateral relations, the situation in Iraque and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The head of Lithuanian MFA started his diplomatic tour in Cairo on 6 October, while on 8 October Minister Valionis concluded his working visit in Egypt and left for the Syrian Arab Republic. On 10 October, the chief of Lithuanian diplomacy starts his working visit in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. This is the first such visit of the Lithuanian Foreign Minister to Arab countries.