“The stance of the whole state, its institutions, businesses and society is crucial for the implementation of Ukraine’s choice to integrate in NATO and the European Union. At the same time it is a common and long-term commitment to work towards it despite obstacles and difficulties. It is Ukraine’s choice and we support it and will help to reach this goal,” Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis said at the Kyiv Security Forum on April 11.

At the meeting with Minister of Defence of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak Minister R. Karoblis reiterated Lithuania’s continued support to Ukraine’s defence reform. He also pointed out the importance of the command and control chain reform, development of the NCO corps, and officer training system reform in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “Lithuania is also ready to develop cooperation in cyber defence,” Minister R. Karoblis said at the meeting.

On 8 April, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius participated in the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg. The Council exchanged views on the Eastern Partnership. Ministers also discussed the future of the Eastern Partnership and reviewed the implementation of the Eastern Partnership's 20 deliverables for 2020.

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister stressed the need for a long-term vision for the Eastern Partnership: “Each partner country must be provided a perspective in line with its ambitions. Thus, the Eastern Partnership can under no circumstances be based on the lowest common denominator. It must be the real motivation behind reforms and allow the potential of countries seeking closer relationship with the EU to blossom”.

On 10 April, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Darius Skusevičius attended the Stratcom Summit in Prague, where he presented Lithuania’s contribution to the strengthening of the European Union’s resilience to hybrid threats and disinformation.

“We live in the age of fake news. Disinformation and other hybrid threats present a very serious challenge for Western unity and security. Hostile third countries, first and foremost Russia, systematically use propaganda to divide us, undermine mutual trust, influence democratic and decision-making processes. The country invests huge financial resources into propaganda,” said Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister.

On 10 April, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published the “Official Development Assistance 2018 – Preliminary Data”.

Last year, Lithuania's official development assistance amounted to EUR 49.93 million or 0.11 percent of gross national income (GNI). Lithuania has allocated EUR 39.87 million for multilateral aid and EUR 10.06 million for bilateral aid.

In 2018, foreign aid from international donors fell 2.7% from 2017. However, the European Union together with the member states has allocated more than EUR 74.4 billion (almost 57% of global aid). Thus, the EU remains the world's largest donor.

The pan-Baltic European standard-gauge railway project Rail Baltica will help to ensure smooth military freight movement across the whole region, Lithuanian Transport Minister Rokas Masiulis says LETA/BNS.

"Having strategic significance, the Rail Baltica project will contribute to smooth military freight movement in the whole region, and Lithuania is ready to provide comprehensive assistance to NATO troops and ensure a well-developed multimodal transport system and safe infrastructure," the minister, currently on a visit to the United States, was quoted as saying in a statement.

A floating photovoltaic power plant at the Kruonis hydroelectric facility in Lithuania is the first of its kind in the Baltic region. The market is growing worldwide, and smaller countries like Lithuania can benefit.

The Lithuanian Business Support Agency (LBSA) recently granted €235,000 ($270,000) to support construction of an experimental floating solar photovoltaic power plant at the 900-megawatt (MW) Kruonis hydroelectric plant.

A joint commission of the Seimas and the Lithuanian World Community (LWC) is starting its meeting in Vilnius on Tuesday, with May's dual citizenship referendum being a key issue on the agenda, the parliament said.

The first Lithuanian Film Days kicked off Thursday night in Kiev, Ukraine. Ukrainian cinema-going public will have the chance to explore 12 films, including contemporary production, classics and animation that will be screened for free in Lyra and Dnepro cinemas. The event takes place 11 to 14 of April.

The opening of the Lithuanian Film Week invited members of Ukraine’s cultural community, film lovers and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions residing in Ukraine to see Mantas Kvedaravicius’s celebrated documentary Mariupolis. The guests were greeted by Lithuanian Ambassador to Ukraine Marius Janukonis, Representative of the Municipal Culture Department Diana Popova, cultural attaché of the Embassy of Lithuania in Ukraine Ina Kniūrienė, national and internation project coordinator Lena Babij (Kiev Kino Film) and others. The opening film was presented by film producer Anna Palenchuk and camerman Viacheslav Tsvetkov.

Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman Faina Kukliansky is currently visiting the largest Litvak community in exile, the South African Jewish community, from April 8 to 13.

Although the Community and chairwoman Kukliansky have long maintained close ties with Litvaks in the Republic of South Africa, this is the first official visit by the LJC.

In meetings with South African Litvaks scheduled for the morning of April 10 at the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre, Kukliansky planned to discuss issues surrounding historical justice, restoration of Lithuanian citizenship and possible joint projects to celebrate 2020 as the Year of the Vilna Gaon and Jewish History in Lithuania.

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.