News

The 4th Convention of Lithuania’s Honorary Consuls is held on 14-16 July in Vilnius. Over 100 consuls from about 60 countries are coming to take part in the convention.

President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė and Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis are going to open the event on 14 July.

During the convention, the consuls will be acquainted with the priorities of Lithuania’s foreign policy, tourism and investment opportunities in Lithuania. The country’s export development, issues of Lithuanians living abroad, provision of consular assistance to Lithuanian citizens abroad, presentation of the Lithuanian culture and the country’s promotion around the world, international academic exchange, as well as cooperation among universities will be discussed.

Participants of the convention will meet with representatives from the Lithuanian Business Confederation |ICC Lithuania, Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists, Lithuanian Business Employers’ Confederation, and other associated business organizations. They will visit Šiauliai, Alytus, Prienai and Tauragė regions, where they will meet local entrepreneurs and will get acquainted with the activities of their enterprises.

A cultural programme for the spouses of the Honorary Consuls includes a visit to the Church Heritage Museum at the Church of St Michael in Vilnius and the Pranas Gudynas Restoration Centre at the Lithuanian Art Museum, where the guests will see how museum objects are conserved and restored. The spouses of the consuls are also invited to visit the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania and the Užutrakis Estate, where they will learn about the processes of reconstruction and restoration.

Currently, Lithuania has 166 honorary consuls in 74 countries. The largest number – sixteen Lithuanian honorary consuls – work in the U.S.A., nine in Italy, and six in each of those countries:  Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Poland. Honorary consuls from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Nigeria, the Republic of South Africa, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, the United States of America, and other countries are expected to come to the convention.

Lithuania expands the network of honorary consuls, dedicating special attention to the countries where Lithuania has economic interests, to the countries with large communities of Lithuanians and to the countries that are among the popular tourist destinations, but do not have Lithuanian diplomatic missions.

Honorary consuls contribute to the development of bilateral relations, strengthening economic and cultural relations between the countries and assist Lithuanian citizens in crisis situations abroad. They work without pay and finance the consulates themselves.

Conventions of Lithuanian Honorary Consuls are held in Vilnius every three years. The first convention was held in autumn of 2001, the second - in the summer of 2004 and the third in the summer of 2007.