News

On 9 November, the Vice-Minister Audra Plepytė attended the fourth EU-CELAC summit, which brought together the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Santa Marta, Colombia.

The Vice-Minister called on the EU and the countries of the CELAC region to mobilise all efforts to defend and support the United Nations principles protecting territorial integrity and sovereignty, which were brutally violated when Russia attacked Ukraine.

"We must recognise who the aggressor is and who the victim is. Today it is in the common interest of all of us to show the world that justice prevails over aggression, and that war criminals will be brought to justice," Plepytė said.

The Vice-Minister also noted the importance of deepening economic ties and the potential for cooperation in the areas of justice and security in the fight against cyber threats and disinformation.

The summit, which was attended by the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, and 57 high-level delegations from the EU and CELAC countries, focused on climate change, the fight against organised crime, economic and trade cooperation, and citizen security.

On the margins of the summit, the Vice-Minister Plepytė met with the Foreign Ministers of Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay, and Costa Rica to discuss bilateral cooperation issues and continued support for Ukraine.