The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry reports deputy foreign minister Mantvydas Bekešius met May 27 with a group of journalists from Israel. The group was visiting Lithuania from May 25 to 29.

The deputy minister said Israel is an important partner to Lithuania in the Middle East and the countries share common values. He said friendship between people continues to grow, that this encourages better knowledge of one another, and that that contributes to growth in business contacts and tourism.

The journalists were interested in successfully expanding relations between Lithuania and Israel, business opportunities, Jewish community current events and the agenda of Lithuanian foreign policy, according to a statement released by the ministry. They also asked about challenges arising in the EU over the migration crisis, the UK’s upcoming referendum on quitting the EU and the Ukraine problem, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said.

On January 8, 2017, Lithuania and Israel will mark 25 years of diplomatic relations.

Full story in Lithuanian here.