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On 6-7 December 2002 in the Portuguese City of Porto, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis took part in the 10th Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). On 6 December, in his address to the participants of the meeting, the minister underscored Lithuania’s contribution to the fight against the international terrorism and presented Lithuanian initiatives aimed at encouraging regional cooperation. The foreign minister stated that “the challenges of today have become equally global and regional.” According to Minister Valionis, the Baltic Sea Region had long become a hub of stability and confidence. “Hopefully, it could serve as a source of inspiration for other regions, for instance with regard to bilateral CSBMs or intensive military-to-military co-operation,“ the chief of Lithuanian diplomacy noted. The minister also informed about the special account for regional co-operation projects of the Council of Europe established on Lithuania’s initiative and stressed that similar initiatives of regional co-operation would be very welcome in the OSCE activities as well. On the same day, Minister Valionis took part in bilateral meetings with the Norwegian and Portuguese foreign ministers. The agenda of the visit in Portugal also included meetings of the chief of Lithuanian diplomacy with OBSCE Secretary General Jan Kubis and foreign ministers of Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, the Netherlands and other countries.