Enhanced information exchange will contribute to the creation of single Baltic-Nordic community, Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs says

Lithuania aims for the five Nordic countries and three Baltic States to become single community of values, which would be linked by a versatile quality of democracy, security and everyday life, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis said on 16 June during a teleconference with the experts of the Nordic and Baltic cooperation, who are paying a visit to Tallinn.

According to the Minister, a coordinated information policy, exchange of television programmes and closer cooperation among historians would serve to the dissemination of values in the region.

“I would suggest aiming to coordinate the information policy more closely in all the Nordic countries and Baltic States, and to give a possibility to the people of our countries to learn more about each other, to feel the region’s linguistic particularities and find historical links, which would help us consolidate things we all have in common rather than things that separate us,” Minister A.Ažubalis said.

Former Prime Minister of Latvia Valdis Birkavs and former Danish Minister of Defence Søren Gade are preparing a review of the Nordic-Baltic cooperation and intend to make recommendations for strengthening cooperation. They will visit eight countries in the region, meet with local politicians, representatives from the Government, academic and business communities and will evaluate new cooperation opportunities in the changing regional environment.

During the teleconference that joined Vilnius and Tallinn, Lithuania’s proposals regarding the cooperation opportunities between the Nordic countries and Baltic States were discussed.

This year the Baltic States initiated a proposition to launch a group of wise men, which would set guidelines for the Nordic-Baltic cooperation. The group would be headed by the representatives from Latvia’s Presidency of the Baltic Council of Ministers and the Danish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The experts visited Vilnius on 14 June and held meetings with Members of the Seimas (Parliament), representatives from the Office of the President and the Office of the Prime Minister, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Asta Skaisgirytė Liauškienė and political scientists.