Visits

Official visit by President Dalia Grybauskaitė to Ireland, 9-10 May 2010

President Dalia Grybauskaitė started her two-day official visit to Ireland by meeting with representatives of local émigré communities and organizations. At the present moment the Lithuanian Association in Ireland unites nearly 90 000 members.

The meeting with the President at the Lithuanian Embassy in Dublin gathered many Lithuanians living in Ireland. Most of them wanted to know how the global economic and financial crisis affected Lithuania, Ireland and the whole of Europe. They also spoke about the issues of concern to the Lithuanian diaspora: Lithuanian schools, Lithuanian language teaching and citizenship.

President Grybauskaitė pointed out that leaving Lithuania or coming back home was a question of personal choice. "Ireland - the country you decided to live in - and its people are friendly to Lithuanians. Still I wish you to be always proud of Lithuania and to never forget that you are Lithuanian, wherever you might be," the President said.

Dalia Grybauskaitė also underlined the importance of keeping Lithuanian schools and preserving the Lithuanian language. She urged members of the Lithuanian community in Ireland to avail themselves more of distance education at the Vilnius Ozas Secondary School and to use special repatriate student baskets for studies in Lithuania.

The President encouraged the Lithuanian community in Ireland to keep up their active stance and to seek education and professional skills.

"Lithuania greatly needs your experience, skills and your ability to work hard. Lithuania is too small to waste its greatest national resource: the people. I hope that you find the best way to use your knowledge for the good of your homeland," the President said.

On the second day of the visit, President Dalia Grybauskaitė visited the oldest higher school in Ireland, the Trinity College Dublin, where she had a meeting with Rector Dr. John Hegarty and other members of the academic community. The Trinity College Dublin is number 13 in Europe according to the 2009 rating of higher schools.

In the meeting, the President and the academic community discussed the possibility to develop cooperation between Lithuanian and Irish universities. The Trinity College Dublin maintains close contacts and is currently carrying out four academic projects with Kaunas University of Technology. Two of these projects concern the development of nano-technologies. Vilnius University, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and Mykolas Romeris University are also interested in the possibility to engage in joint projects..

"Lithuania and Ireland will have great political challenges to face - the approaching presidencies of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union. This will offer a good opportunity for political science experts of both countries to develop their academic ties and engage in close cooperation between the Trinity College Dublin and the University of Vilnius," President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

According to the President, the Trinity College Dublin, which has accumulated vast experience in the academic fields that are very important for the modernisation of economy and promotion of innovation, would provide a good example for Lithuania in reforming its higher education system.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė visited the Trinity College's library, which is one of the largest libraries in Europe, and gave a present of a book about the Balt languages. The library has four an a half million of books, manuscripts, maps, and sets of musical notes

Continuing her official visit to Ireland, President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with her Irish counterpart, President Mary McAleese.

The Irish and Lithuanian Presidents discussed bilateral relations and the political, cultural, historical and economic situation of the two states.

"Six years ago, Lithuania joined the EU under the Irish Presidency. Ireland has always been a good example for us, both with its historic experience of survival as a nation and with its ability to stay mobilised in the face of such modern challenges as we face now, when we have to overcome the economic crisis and take difficult decisions. Ireland is also a good partner of Lithuania within the European Union, a partner that has consistently supported our membership and has been willingly sharing its experience," the President of Lithuania said in the meeting.

Later on, President Dalia Grybauskaitė had a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen. The President and the Prime Minister discussed Lithuanian-Irish economic relations, prospects of cooperation within the European Union, the EU 2020 Strategy, energy issues.

The President and the Prime Minister underlined that the two countries were united by good political relations but that despite that they both needed to explore new ways of developing their economic cooperation and promoting investment in both economies.

On the issue of energy security, President Grybauskaitė noted that the European Union would not emerge successfully from the crisis and would not see the recovery of the European economy unless a single Community energy market is created and the infrastructure necessary for economic growth is developed. According to the President, construction of electricity interconnection with the EU's energy systems is vital both for Lithuania and Ireland and calls for continuous focus and financing from the European Union.

They also talked about the Lithuanian community in Ireland. The President asked the Irish Prime Minister to investigate the possibility to grant legal recognition to marriages registered at consular offices of the Republic of Lithuania. The Prime Minister promised to examine the situation and look for possible solutions.

Press Service of the President