Agreement of the Lithuanian and U.S. governments on closer cooperation in the area of crime prevention was initialled
On 26 September, Lithuanian Ambassador to the U.S.A. Audrius Brūzga, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security Stewart Baker and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bruce C.Swartz initialled an agreement of the Lithuanian and U.S. Governments on closer cooperation in the area of crime prevention and fight against crime.
‘This is another important step, bringing Lithuanian closer to its membership in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program,’ indicated Ambassador A.Brūzga.
By initialling the agreement Lithuania fulfils one of security requirements, which are foreseen in the Memorandum of Mutual Understanding signed on 17 March. In compliance with the agreement, both partner countries are prepared to strengthen cooperation of police power institutions in seeking to guarantee the security of travellers and travels by exchanging information on persons who could threaten security.
On 24 September, during the meeting with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitiekūnas and foreign ministers of the other Baltic States discussed the progress which has been made, seeking to waive visa regime for Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian citizens travelling to the U.S.A.