On 3 April Lithuania's Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius participated in the NATO's 70^thanniversary events held in Washington, the USA.

The Minister highlighted the impact of the 15 years of Lithuanian NATO membership on the state's security and the importance of Georgia’s and Ukraine's accession to the Alliance in pursuit of securing peace and stability in Europe.

On 1 April, an annual meeting of the Nordic-Baltic-Visegrád Four Foreign Ministers took place in Palanga. The Foreign Ministers discussed security issues, preparations for the upcoming meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Washington, D.C., cyber security and hybrid threats, the Eastern Partnership, relations with Russia, Ukraine, and China.

"This year marks important anniversaries, including the alliance's 70th anniversary and the 15th anniversary of Lithuania’s membership of NATO. This is a good opportunity to celebrate and to be proud of our achievements. However, we must also consider the challenges that we are facing, the goals that we will continue to pursue, as well as ways to cooperate with our partners,” said L. Linkevičius.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė took part in the official celebration of the 15th anniversary of Lithuania’s membership in NATO and in the festive public events that followed.

Speaking at the ceremony of raising the flags of Lithuania and NATO, the President recalled yet another important date: the 70th anniversary of NATO that will be celebrated on April 4. For fifteen years now, the President said, we have been part of its historic timeline. We are proud to be celebrating the anniversary of our membership in NATO together with our allies.

On April 2 the Ministry of Defence of Lithuania and the Department of Defence of the United States of America signed a bilateral defence cooperation plan for the next five years in Washington.

The document identifies cooperation objectives and priorities the countries agree to focus on in the coming years: joint exercises and training, strengthening deterrence measures in the Baltic Sea region, cooperation in multinational operations, development of regional cyber capabilities, etc.

Satalia, a British artificial intelligence and data science company, has fully acquired Data Dog, a Kaunas-based IT company. For several years, both firms have been cooperating to develop business optimisation systems for clients like PwC and Tesco. With the merger, they will expand to developing a product portfolio of their own.

Satalia span out of University College London (UCL) in 2008 and today applies the latest AI technologies to solve optimisation problems for some of the world’s best-known companies. In recent years, and in collaboration with Data Dog, it has developed a leading capability in vehicle routing, workforce optimisation, infrastructure planning, churn analysis and price optimisation – and was recently recognised as one of London’s most exciting AI companies.

Eisfeld Ingenieure, a German company offering state-of-art structural engineering solutions is to open a new office in Vilnius, Lithuania. The company will look to build a team of 20 professionals in the coming years.

Headquartered in Kassel, Eisfeld Ingenieure has 75 years of experience in structural engineering. Using an approach that integrates the latest BIM modelling software and provides cost-effective and environmentally conscious processes, the company is embracing innovation to deliver future focused structural engineering solutions. Its new Vilnius office will be involved in the development of the company’s core services, with its Lithuanian team being mainly composed of structural engineers.

Vilnius University will be honouring 85 former students and academic community members with symbolic ‘Memory Diplomas’ who were expelled from the university due to totalitarian regimes and their local collaborators. As a result, many people lost an ability to continue their academic career, studies or research.

It only takes 1,969 steps to take in the main sightseeing attractions of Vilnius! The number may seem small, but Vilnius’ UNESCO-listed Old Town is one of the most walkable in Europe, and is rich with history, astonishing Baroque architecture, green parks and artistic spaces. It’s the perfect getaway for every kind of explorer.

Since Vilnius’ most beautiful places can be discovered on foot, Go Vilnius, the city’s official development agency, has compiled a list of 23 new walking routes for travellers to explore on their own. Filled with commentaries, approximate walking times and even step counts, the Walkable Vilnius website is available for everyone planning their trip.

When Helen Mirren walks into her home as Catherine the Great in the new HBO mini series named after the famous Russian Empress, she’s not really in the actual rooms of the famed Tsarskoye Selo palace just south of Saint Petersburg. She’s actually in the historical Vilnius University Library in Vilnius, Lithuania.

This and many more secrets are shared in a new guide entitled Vilnius On Screen. It’s a perfect read for those interested in what goes on behind the scenes of the latest productions by the likes of HBO, Netflix, National Geographic, Sky TV, and many more. The guide invites readers to take a deep dive into renowned film and television titles like War and Peace, Jack the Ripper, the Conductor, and more – and shows them how Vilnius provided the setting they needed to bring their stories to life.