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On 19 December, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitiekūnas visited Vilnius Sholem Aleichem Jewish secondary school and discussed the important European Union issues with pupils from a Jewish background. The Minister told the pupils about the European Union Reform Treaty, which was signed in December. The pupils and the Minister discussed intensively into the merits of joining the Schengen area and the opportunities of the visa-free regime with the USA. The pupils also were interested in the issues of dual citizenship.

During the conversation with the pupils, P.Vaitiekūnas emphasized the significance of free choice and awareness, as well as how important it was for the success of the country to reach accord in establishing common goals.

“Only a free person performs good deeds willingly,” said the Head of Lithuanian diplomacy.

The Minister also indicated that Litvaks were a very distinct world-wide phenomenon. According to the Minister, Litvaks are diligently working for the benefit of both Israel and Lithuania. Speaking about the relations between Lithuania and Israel, P.Vaitiekūnas said that only co-operative effort could prevent injustice from happening and avoid the replay of old mistakes. In the intergovernmental relations, according to the minister, values are rated especially highly.

P.Vaitiekūnas has recently visited Vilnius Lukiškės secondary school and the secondary school of Francišak Skaryna, as well as the John Paul II Gymnasium, where he met with pupils from Russian, Belarusian and Polish background.

The purpose of the meetings with Lithuanian national minorities’ pupils is to encourage the ethnic groups to contribute to a better implementation of the goals of Lithuanian foreign policy in the European Union.