On 15 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius, who is visiting Ukraine together with his Estonian, Latvian and Polish counterparts, stressed that the Western community could not just passively observe Russia's actions in the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov.

“We must demand that Russia should respect the freedom of navigation under international maritime law. The aggressive Russian action in the Kerch Strait and illegal actions in the Azov Sea are having significant negative effects on Ukraine and Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov,” said L. Linkevičius.

Amsterdam, January 17-18 – Progress and future developments of Lithuanian-led EU Cyber Rapid Response Teams (CRRT) and Mutual Assistance in Cyber Security project to be discussed at the annual conference in Amsterdam (the Netherlands).

“We have achieved significant progress on the path of developing the EU cyber response force along with other participating countries and strategic partners of the project over the past year. Actions taken prove that we can develop and combine forces in practice to fight threats in cyberspace and to strengthen collective defence in this realm,” Lithuanian Deputy Defence Minister Edvinas Kerza says ahead of the conference.

On 16 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius presented Andrius Kubilius' candidacy for the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to ambassadors of the Council of Europe member states residing in Lithuania.

"Andrius Kubilius has served as the Prime Minister of Lithuania twice during hard times for our country. He has accumulated not only experience in the field of politics, but also has very good strategic thinking that would benefit the Council of Europe today," said Linkevičius.

2018 was another record-breaking year for Invest Lithuania, with a record 45 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects attracted. Combined, these newly attracted projects are set to create 4,600 new specialist positions. And the country is gaining real momentum as a high added value investment location, with every new project helping to further raise its profile and reputation.

In 2015, 28 FDI projects were announced, a number which jumped to 36 in 2016, and then reached 39 in 2017, before last year’s new record. And a diverse range of factors is driving this impressive growth: the rapid expansion of specialist sectors such as Fintech, the continued diversification of the country’s Global Business Services (GBS) sector, and Lithuania’s emergence as an attractive R&D location.

Courting fintech companies is paying off for Lithuania. For two years Lithuania has promoted itself as a launchpad for hi-tech upstarts eyeing the European Union and the euro region, offering English-language services and three-month approval for licenses. Big-name companies to obtain banking and e-money permits include London-based Revolut Ltd. and Google Payment Ltd.

The initiative has led to the issuance of 45 e-money licenses, according to Invest Lithuania, the country’s investment agency. That’s second only to the U.K., which has doled out 146.

"TRACES: Traversing the Past" - created by a Lithuanian team Nanook has won the New Media Writing Prize.

„TRACES: Traversing the Past” is an interactive documentary story. It combines the painful history of deportations with the expedition “In the Footsteps of the Laptevians”. The four men who travelled to Siberia trekked and paddled their inflatable canoes more than 500 kilometers, documenting what they experienced.