Meetings and Discussions

   

The Visit of the Chairman of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania

On June 7, 2005 the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies hosted Arturas Paulauskas, Chairman of the Seimas (Parliament) of the Republic of Lithuania. The guest met with the Foundation fellows and the representatives of the non-governmental organizations.

During the meeting, Mr. Paulauskas discussed European Union integration and the Lithuanian experience as one of the first states from the former USSR to be accepted into the monetary and political union. He drew many parallels between the Baltic States and the South Caucasus, offering Lithuania’s experiences as a model for Georgia’s progression toward European integration and stressing the importance of Lithuanian-Georgian governmental cooperation in the development of Georgia’s relationship with the European community. The Chairman also emphasized the need for Georgia to cooperate with its neighbors in order to display South Caucasus as an area with the great potential for growth, citing the GUAM arrangement as an example of successful teamwork in the region. Mr. Paulauskas ended his speech with the discussion of Russian Federation. In his view, there is the need for cooperation and good relations with that country.

The discussion was followed by a brief question and answer session, which covered some current topics in EU and Lithuanian politics.