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Distinguished Honorary Consuls,Dear Guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,I am really proud and honored to welcome you – the distinguished representatives of our Republic – here in Vilnius. This meeting takes place at a particular time for Lithuania. Two months ago, Lithuania joined the European Union and NATO. And tomorrow we will mark the seven-hundred fifty-first anniversary of the Lithuanian State. It is symbolic that Lithuania arrives to this date already as a full member of the European and transatlantic community. Our integration with Europe started more than seven hundred years ago, when the values of European culture and civilization were adopted. Those values guided us through the ups and downs of Lithuania’s historical development, and they to a large extent continue to shape our future in Europe. But on the other hand, our accession to the European Union and NATO has not come by chance or by historical accident. Lithuania worked hard and consistently to prove she was worth membership. On this occasion, I would like to thank you, dear Honorary Consuls, for your commitment and effort to help Lithuania in this endeavor. Your activities have contributed immensely to Lithuania’s goals, and I wish this experience serve us well in the future.There are lessons to be learned from Lithuania’s centuries-old history, and I would like to remind one of them. In the eighteenth century, the Polish-Lithuanian state banned the establishment of foreign legations on its territory. Furthermore, its own missions abroad were closed down. Under these conditions, the Polish-Lithuanian state was isolated from European developments, and was incapable of reacting properly to the threats of that time. Therefore, an active foreign policy is an absolute priority for the twenty-first century Lithuania. We have to be seen, we have to be visible, in order to shape our future with our own hands. As a small country, Lithuania will have to draw all resources to achieve this goal. In this context, your role as Honorary Consuls is also expanding. Your activities helped Lithuania to pass the threshold of the EU and NATO; so now your activities should contribute to our new foreign policy goals. In May, the Acting President of Lithuania introduced a new vision of Lithuania as a member of the European Union and NATO. This vision portrays Lithuania as a center of the region, and Vilnius as a regional capital. Indeed, regional leadership is a means to increase Lithuania’s profile Europe-wide and internationally. For that we will build on our earlier priorities – namely, integration into the European Union, membership of NATO, and development of good neighborly relations. Yet, leadership is easier to declare than to achieve. Lithuania will have to surmount many barriers to become a respected leader. Those barriers stand both at home and in the region. At home, it is critical to cope with the upsurge of quick-fix illusions, which shatter stability and political cooperation. On a regional scale, we have to deal with a geopolitical and institutional diversity, poor infrastructure, low-level economic cooperation, and above all – the absence of a long-term vision regarding the region’s future development.Lithuania will have to balance between its domestic needs and foreign ambitions. Foreign policy should work in both directions. Membership in the European Union and NATO must give a fresh impetus to social and economic reforms in the country, thus helping improve our living conditions. And our neighborly policies can bring a new thinking and a new political culture both in the region and at Euro-Atlantic level. Here, I would like to briefly highlight the top list of priorities for Lithuania: First, full integration into the European Union and NATO structures and full engagement in all formats of European and transatlantic cooperation. We need to integrate in the shortest time possible into the European transport and energy networks and external border control system. We have to use all advantages offered by the common market. Membership in the European Union and NATO should stimulate Lithuania’s social and economic growth and contribute to her cultural and intellectual development.Second, vibrant transatlantic cooperation and harmonious EU-NATO relations. It is especially important for Lithuania that the European Union and NATO avoid duplication and address global threats together. Lithuania will seek that the United States continued to play a key role in the European security architecture.Third, active engagement in EU-Russia and NATO-Russia cooperation. To promote her national interests, Lithuania must participate actively in the EU-Russia and NATO-Russia dialogue. At the same time, reducing social and economic vulnerability is crucial to a long-term success in this area. Thus, we must advance a pragmatic and careful neighborly policy, which would allow us to avoid unwelcome influence from abroad.Fourth, cooperation with Poland. This cooperation becomes increasingly important in developing relations with eastern neighbors. Joint Lithuanian-Polish initiatives in this area would open up new possibilities and expand our role in the European and transatlantic relations with Eastern Europe.Fifth, the Baltic-Nordic solidarity. We have to strengthen and exploit it more actively in order to build a larger and deeper-integrated Baltic Sea region. Sixth, closer ties between the Kaliningrad Region and Europe. We need to build a symbiotic relationship between Kaliningrad and the European Union, which would encourage social and economic progress in this region. In this process Lithuania could and should play a major role.Seventh, a predictable, democratic and independent Belarus. The new borders of the European Union and NATO should remain open to cooperation and integration. An eastward expansion of the zone of security, stability and democracy would serve the interests of the Euro-Atlantic community, as well as the national interests of Lithuania. Eighth, European and transatlantic integration of Ukraine. We envision Ukraine as an inseparable part of the region, of Europe, and of the European Union and NATO. We will continue to support the Ukrainian efforts in this direction, and for that we will seek to secure greater European and transatlantic support to the reforms in this country. Ninth, our goals in the United Nations, OSCE and other multilateral forums. We believe they should be realistic but ambitious. Active policy in international institutions helps to increase Lithuania’s profile. Lithuania plans to apply for the United Nations Security Council membership in 2014-2015. At the moment, the preparations for joining the United Nations ECOSOC council are in full swing. Finally, active involvement of the new and the old diasporas of the Lithuanian émigré communities. Their contribution to Lithuania’s international goals proved invaluable in the past, and we will seek to continue this cooperation in the future. Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe that today’s discussions will help us focus more closely on the areas in which you as Honorary Consuls may contribute. More than one hundred Honorary Consuls serve our country today, and we feel it is not yet the limit. Lithuania needs your enthusiasm, your social networks and your professional skills to advance our national interests more aggressively. We hope that you will actively join Lithuania’s efforts to shape its new image as a member of the European Union and NATO. We especially encourage your initiatives in building new contacts between your country and Lithuania in the fields of economy, culture, and education. We must grasp the new opportunities that arise; we have to create conditions for Lithuania to develop as a leading EU and NATO member in the region. We understand that to stay in the front line is not an easy task, especially when your duties to Lithuania are carried out on a voluntary basis. But your feedback is absolutely critical to our Ministry and to Lithuania. We need it as frequent and as rich as possible. I believe that this meeting will also allow us to exchange opinions and to learn about the developments in your countries firsthand. Our safer and economically more advanced situation should allow us in the near future to provide you with more and better-quality information about Lithuania, required in your daily work. During these days, you will be offered a number of visits to the towns and regions of Lithuania, where you will have an opportunity to meet local business communities and explore the possibilities of cooperation. We hope that these meetings will end in new valuable contacts and new cooperation projects with Lithuania and for Lithuania. I wish you all a pleasant stay in our country, a fruitful discussion today, and many unforgettable moments during this week.Thank you.