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Over the twenty years, Nordic and Baltic countries have become an affinity group, which shares everything from conflict resolution experience to life-long learning practices, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis said at the international Baltic-Nordic cooperation conference in Vilnius.

According to the Minister, Lithuania would not be what it is today without the assistance of Northern European countries.

“Today it is also our responsibility, the responsibility of the Baltic States, to help other countries that need our assistance, just like we needed it twenty years ago,” Minister A.Ažubalis said.

This year, Lithuania and Nordic countries mark the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of their diplomatic relations.

“The Nordic Council of Ministers Office also celebrates its 20th anniversary in Vilnius. We are grateful to the Office for a broadening? scope of cooperation spectrum: starting with the drawing-up of the Nordic-Baltic partnership agenda, internship programmes, projects for non-governmental organizations, institutions and businesses, and rounding up with the promotion of Nordic films and other activities,” the Minister said.

The Minister said that last year the Nordic-Baltic cooperation format, the so-called NB8 that was established in 1992, was given a new impetus as the informal Wise Men group was created. It visited all the NB8 countries - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland – and met with politicians, officials and the academic community, and produced a report on Baltic and Nordic cooperation with 38 recommendations. These recommendations focus on a closer cooperation for a more harmonious and effective development of the region.

Minister A.Ažubalis said that the first results responding to these recommendations should be achieved already in this summer. It is expected that an intergovernmental agreement on the exchange of diplomats posted to third countries would be signed during the regional conference on 30 August in Helsinki, the conference will be attended with the participation of NB8 foreign ministers.

“It is possible that one day our diplomats, making use of the Nordic representations, will work even in such locations, where we would not be able to post them on our own - in Africa, Brazil or elsewhere. Likewise, Nordic diplomats will also be able to make use of our diplomatic representations in Moldova, Georgia or Armenia. Already today the European Union is creating a single External Action Service, but this does not prevent us from establishing a small NB8 foreign service of our own,” Minister A.Ažubalis said.

According to the Minister, when aiming to broaden relations between the societies in Nordic and Baltic countries, we must develop a single information space in the region. It would help the citizens of Lithuania to understand that Northern European countries are our immediate neighbours, and to emphasize the similarities of our cultures and values. The Minister believes that we could begin to create the information space with subtitled movies, a wide range of in-depth stories and a plethora of television talk-shows.