Lithuania – Visit by Catherine Colonna (29-30 March 2023)

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna will be traveling to Lithuania from March 29-30.

The Minister will be welcomed by Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and will meet with her counterpart, Gabrielius Landsbergis. These conversations will all focus on the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and our lasting support for Ukraine, in particular, our military support, following on the agreement reached during the March 20th Foreign Affairs Council meeting on the joint procurement and urgent delivery of ammunition and missiles in support of the Ukrainian army.

The Minister will address the preparations being made for the NATO Summit that will take place in Vilnius next July and, in particular, support for Sweden and Finland’s accession to the Alliance. She will speak with her interlocutors about the reinforcement of NATO’s posture on the eastern flank, which benefits from France’s active participation in Lithuania, as well as in Estonia and Romania. The Minister will travel to the Šiauliai military base, where she will meet with the members of the French Air Force who are stationed in Lithuania and work with the four Rafale fighter jets that have been deployed there.

During these meetings, Catherine Colonna will also discuss our bilateral cooperation on security and defense matters and economic issues, as well as cultural topics, in the lead-up to the 2024 Lithuanian cultural season in France.

Lastly, during her visit, the Minister will meet with representative of the Belarusian democratic opposition Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has been in exile in Lithuania since the fraudulent Belarusian presidential election took place in August 2020.