News

On 6 March, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Darius Skusevičius held a meeting with the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Lithuania Gijsbert Van Der Lingen. The officials emphasized that Lithuania particularly enjoyed a good bilateral relationship with the Netherlands and was interested in further strengthening cooperation, especially in the field of security and defence.

Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister thanked the Ambassador of the Netherlands for his personal contribution to and efforts in the development of relations between Lithuania and the Netherlands. The officials particularly highlighted the importance of cooperation within NATO. In the meeting, Skusevičius thanked for the Dutch support for strengthening security in the Baltic region and welcomed the decision to send the Dutch troops to NATO’s multinational battalion in Lithuania.

The officials also discussed the Eastern Partnership initiative. Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister welcomed the decision of the lower house of the Dutch Parliament on the ratification of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. Skusevičius also expressed hope that the Senate would support this agreement in the near future, thus completing the process of ratification by the Netherlands.

The interlocutors also discussed cooperation projects in the field of culture. The Ambassador presented projects aimed at perpetuating the memory of the former Dutch Consul in Kaunas Jan Zwartendijk. In 1940, Zwartendijk helped rescue more than 2,000 Jews trapped in Lithuania by issuing visas.

Gijsbert Van Der Lingen has served as the Ambassador to Lithuania since September 2014.