The Republic of Lithuania celebrated 32 years of independence and three decades of diplomatic relations with Egypt. On this occasion, The Egyptian Mail sat with Lithuanian Ambassador to Egypt Artūras Gailiūnas talked to The Egyptian Mail about recent developments in the Ukrainian crisis and joint co-operation with Egypt.
Unprovoked war
Ambassador Gailiūnas strongly condemned Russia’s ‘unprovoked war’ against Ukraine and its people, reiterating unwavering support to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.
“We demand that Russia cease immediately all military actions and withdraw its forces from the territory of Ukraine and Belarus,” Ambassador Gailiūnas said.
“We admire the infinite courage of the Ukrainian people and its military and we stand with them. They defend not only Ukraine. They defend the the United Nations Charter, rules-based international order, democracy and security,” he said.
“As the number of refugees is increasing, the Lithuanian people express their solidarity with the Ukrainians by opening their homes to families fleeing the conflict and providing all possible assistance to the population in Ukraine that is in a deep humanitarian crisis,” the ambassador went on.
“I am proud to mention that the Lithuanian Embassy and Lithuanian private tour operators have joined in efforts of the other EU member states neighbouring Ukraine to assist Ukrainian citizens to return to their homes,” he said.
The ambassador also hailed efforts by the Government of Egypt, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Civil Aviation Authority for their assistance to Ukrainian citizens.
Regarding the support of diplomatic missions here to Ukraine, the ambassador said that Ukrainian flags fly proudly over every embassy of every EU member in Cairo.
“Events organised by the the EU are dedicated to the Ukrainian people and the humanitarian crisis caused by Russian aggression. An EU delegation and the EU embassies coordinate their assistance to the Ukrainian Embassy,” Gailiūnas said.
As for sanctions against Russia, the ambassador said Lithuania initiated at EU level considerations of establishing a special tribunal to ensure that those who are responsible are subject to international criminal liability.
“This idea was put forward to the international community last week by the government as well as by the scientific and legal community of Ukraine,” he noted.
On fears that Lithuania and other countries could be the next target for Russian aggression, the ambassador said that If Russia manages to conquer Ukraine, it will possibly continue to attack more countries in the future.
“Russia has already indicated its claims to the territories of other countries in Europe. This has not only consequences for Europe. We cannot accept a world in which larger countries start gulping down smaller ones. This is an imperial, colonial war.”
The next target of aggression could be any sovereign state in Europe or Asia, the ambassador said.
“Russia’s military aggression will have a long-term impact on global security. Locally, there is imminent need to substantially and immediately strengthen the Baltic Sea region’s defence,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ambassador denied any kind of discrimination in Europe along the borders.
“According to basic humanitarian principles, women and children have priority. And that is the only rule, without any discrimination,” the ambassador stressed.
He also referred to the Egyptian Red Crescent, which set up an aid centre for people crossing the border at Medyka, Poland.
Promising bilateral ties
As for bilateral ties, the Lithuanian ambassador said that both Lithuania and Egypt are keen to foster political ties and economic co-operation on all levels. “This includes regular political consultations, the work of the Joint Committee for Economic, Technical and Scientific co-operation, and encouraging the private sector to establish more projects, to increase the volume of two-way trade, and to facilitate the investments.”
The Last meeting of the Joint Committee was in Vilnius in October 2019 – now it is time to prepare the next meeting.
According to the ambassador, trade volume is estimated at €77 million yearly.
“This is not bad, but it could certainly grow further,” he said.
As for the establishment of the joint business council, the ambassador said both sides are working to re-establish and to strengthen the ties that have been severed during two years of the pandemic restrictions.
“A landmark in this process was a meeting of the Chambers of Commerce of Vilnius and Ismailia on 9 March 2022,” he said.
Co-operation agreements between the respective chambers and between the businesswomen’s networks in the two countries were signed during the meeting, he added.
Gailiūnas noted that Ambassador Yasser Hashem, Deputy Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Egyptian Ambassador to Lithuania Kareem Sharif, addressed the meeting with him, thus showing political support and personal engagement in developing ties between the pusiness people of our countries.
Well-established cultural ties
The ambassador described the joint cultural ties as “well established”.
“Our Universities do cooperate, every film festival in Egypt screens at least one Lithuanian movie. By the way, a movie by Lithuanian director Jonas Mekas is being shown for the Ismailia film festival,” he said.
The embassy works closely with Egyptian cultural institutions such as Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the Institute for Coptic Studies.
“We are currently preparing the Arab language and cultural studies for the Lithuanian officials programme in collaboration with Egyptian academic institutions.
Discussion about this post