Public activities by the Israeli embassy opened in Lithuania last year have been noticeable. Israeli ambassador Amir Maimon said they hadn’t just settled in, they’d begun specific projects to bring the people of the two countries closer. In a special interview on the 15min.lt website by Paulius Gritėnas, the ambassador talked about plans to set up a modern museum of Jewish culture in Vilnius, bilateral projects and his impressions of Lithuania.

“I think I won’t make a mistake in saying during the last year you were one of the most noticeable ambassadors on the Lithuanian scene. You organized a basketball tournament, a bicycling event, an exhibit, appearances by Israel artists and traveled all over Lithuania and spoke with people. What goals which you listed at the beginning of 2015 have you been able to achieve?”

“It will probably surprise you, but the most important goal which was achieved was clarity on my mission. As I told you last year, this is a continuing process, but it’s more clear to me now what I should focus on. When I arrived in Lithuania a year ago I couldn’t say what the specific goals were. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t given tasks, as diplomats are, but after last year I realized my most important mission was to forge contacts between people. One of the first things I did when I became ambassador was to go to Ponar with the staff. Not because someone told me to, but because I wanted to.”

Full interview in Lithuanian here.