President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with Polish President Andrzej Duda. The President of Lithuania is in Poland on a two day state visit to consolidate the results achieved over the past ten years, take stock of the work done and set the guidelines for future cooperation. This year marks the 450th anniversary of the Union of Lublin – which places a symbolic emphasis on the timing of the visit.

According to the President, even in those distant times, the Lithuanian and Polish nations knew very well that their survival was possible only through unity in the face of geopolitical challenges. Today, Lithuania and Poland are close neighbors, committed EU partners and NATO allies working together to ensure the security and well-being of their people.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė received messages of congratulations from world leaders on February 16, Independence Day, wishing the people of Lithuania concord, peace and prosperity.

Congratulations on Lithuania’s Independence Day were extended by Pope Francis, U.S. President Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth II, Emperor Akihito, French President Emmanuel Macron and many other leaders.

Dutch and Czech forces from one of NATO’s battlegroups in the eastern part of the Alliance are taking part in cold weather training in Lithuania. This month, soldiers are learning how to survive in extreme weather conditions.

On 18 February, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius discussed the course of the negotiations and Lithuania’s key interests in the meeting with the EU chief negotiator on Brexit, Michel Barnier in Brussels.

The Foreign Minister expressed his support for efforts to find a creative solution to the Irish border, which would help to maintain the United Kingdom's withdrawal deal and, at the same time, would receive the necessary support in the UK’s Parliament.

Lithuania is one of the 11 EU member states that have already hit 2020 renewable energy targets, World Economic Forum reports.

Almost half of EU 28 member states have already hit, or are close to hitting, their 2020 renewable energy targets. Lithuania, along with Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Hungary, Romania and Sweden, is at the top of the class. Austria, Greece and Latvia also look certain to hit their targets.

The LBChain project - the world’s first blockchain-based sandbox developed by a financial market regulator (the Bank of Lithuania) - has garnered significant attention among European FinTech companies. From 21 applicants from countries such as Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Finland, Serbia and Sweden, no more than 6 will be deemed eligible to move forward.

“The initiative of the Bank of Lithuania to develop blockchain-based products and solutions has been well received. This is also evidenced by the rather considerable amount of applications that were sent in,” said Andrius Adamonis, Project Manager at the Bank of Lithuania.

Blockchain, the world’s most popular and trusted crypto platform, announced the opening of a new office in Vilnius, Lithuania. The office, which is Blockchain’s fifth location, will be home to dozens of designers and customer success agents as well as engineers who will work alongside colleagues in London, New York and San Francisco engineering offices on strategic customer facing projects.

“For our next expansion project, we looked at several options in Europe. Vilnius quickly rose to the top of the list because of its mature talent pool and commitment to innovation,” said Peter Smith, CEO of Blockchain.

An international architectural idea competition for the National Concert Hall, to be built on the Tauras Hill in central Vilnius, was launched on Monday. Architects from all over the world are invited to design one of the most important future spaces in the capital city of Lithuania and to submit their proposals to Vilnius City Municipality.

The contest expires in June, and it is estimated that the construction of the building should start in 2021. According to initial plans, Vilnius city dwellers and city guests would be invited to the new hall in 2023 on the occasion of celebration of the 700th anniversary of Vilnius city.

It’s not with the first flowers, the returning of birds, or the warmer temperatures that spring starts in Vilnius – Kaziukas Fair (Kaziuko mugė) marks its beginning on 1-3 March. Filled with songs, crafts, and scrumptious food, the city’s oldest and largest fair is an experience to remember.

Taking over the streets of the Old Town, the fair cherishes some of Vilnius’ ancient traditions while also embracing modern ones, making for an adventure that is both dynamic and unique. From culinary heritage and innovative food experiments, traditional performances and modern entertainment, to archaic crafts and contemporary design pieces – there’s so much to explore.

The 20th Vilnius Book Fair kicked off in the Lithuanian capital on Thursday.

The four-day book fair, the largest of its kind on the Baltic countries, will offer a broad cultural program including almost 550 events and more than 200 meetings with authors, and will welcome over 50 foreign guests.

Mindaugas Kvietkauskas, a literary critic and poet now serving as Lithuania's culture minister, opened the fair by quoting Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco, who said "the book is like the spoon, scissors, the hammer, the wheel. Once invented, it cannot be improved".