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On 25 July in Vilnius, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Audronius Ažubalis met with outgoing German Ambassador to Lithuania Hans Peter Annen and thanked him for activities of strengthening the Lithuanian-German relations and developing a dialogue of the countries in international formats. This year, Lithuania and Germany will be celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations. According to A.Ažubalis, on the occasion of this anniversary an exhibition on the history of the Lithuanian diplomatic representation in Germany will be opened in Berlin.

“Over the past twenty years, relations between Lithuania and Germany have been permanently strengthening and intensifying. This is best illustrated by an active political dialogue, increasing volumes of trade and close ties between the people of the two countries,” said the head of Lithuanian diplomacy.

During the meeting, A.Ažubalis also noted that Germany’s support for the implementation of regional energy and infrastructure projects was very important for Lithuania. The Minister expressed hope that Lithuania and Germany would continue to cooperate strengthening the role of the Vilnius-based Energy Security Centre in implementing energy projects.

A.Ažubalis thanked the German Ambassador for his country’s participation in NATO mission to patrol the skies over the Baltic states. Germany has participated in the mission already four times.

German Ambassador to Lithuania Hans Peter Annen presented credentials to the President of Lithuania on 30 July 2008.

Lithuania and Germany re-established diplomatic relations on 28 August 1991.

In 2010, Lithuania’s exports to Germany amounted to 5.3 billion Litas, and imports reached 6.7 billion Litas. Compared with 2009, exports increased by 35 percent, and imports by 32 percent. According to the volumes of bilateral trade, Germany is in the second place, and according to investments the country occupies the fourth place among Lithuania’s foreign trade partners.