Visits

Working visit by President Dalia Grybauskaitė to Vienna, 13 April 2011

President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė made a one-day working visit to Vienna. In the Austrian capital, the President visited the head office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), where she addressed OSCE Permanent Council and met with OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut. During the visit, the President also met with Austrian President Heinz Fisher and Chancellor Werner Faymann.

At the OSCE Permanent Council, President Dalia Grybauskaitė presented Lithuanian Chairmanship priorities and discussed Chairmanship progress and main issues of concern.

The President's presentation placed a strong focus on the need to resolve protracted conflicts in Moldova and the South Caucasus.

"I believe that the future of this Organization as a whole will depend on whether we manage to finally resolve protracted conflicts, or they will continue to drive us apart. Key to success lies in the courage of leaders to sit down, talk openly and address the problems," President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

The President named the issue of nuclear safety as one of the most important issues on the agenda for the Lithuanian Chairmanship. The President called on all OSCE participating countries to join the EU initiative proposed by Lithuania to ensure the highest safety standards for nuclear reactors within the European Union and in its neighborhood.

Among its priorities Lithuania, which assumed OSCE Chairmanship in the beginning of the year, has also identified human rights, media freedoms and safety of journalists, democratic elections, fight against terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and drug trafficking, energy security and cyber safety.

In the meeting with OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, the President exchanged views on the debate in the Permanent Council and underlined the importance of a uniform dialogue in addressing issues of importance for the whole international community. According to the President, solutions and responses to common challenges can be obtained only by joint efforts of the OSCE and its members.

The President thanked the Secretary General, who is soon to finish his term of office, for his active efforts and constructive cooperation.

Later in the day, President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with Austrian President Heinz Fischer and Chancellor Werner Faymann.

The topics discussed in the meetings covered Lithuanian-Austrian bilateral relations, cooperation within international organizations, European Union issues of concern, and the EU's Eastern Partnership Policy. The Lithuanian and Austrian leaders gave special attention to issues related to nuclear safety.

The President of Lithuania thanked the Austrian leaders for backing Lithuania's initiative to tighten global standards for nuclear safety during the discussions on this issue at the Brussels European Council.

"Austria is Lithuania's important partner both in developing bilateral relations and in seeking common interests in the European Union. Austria fully supports and actively advocates our position that nuclear power plants within and outside Europe should be subject to the highest safety standards and safety tests. Cooperation with Austria will help us in our efforts to make sure that these problems are successfully addressed in the future," President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

According to the President, Austria could stand as a perfect example of how well waste could be managed. The Austrian capital Vienna has four waste utilisation plants, where waste incineration produces heat and electricity without any pollution, and their activities are fully transparent and reported to citizens.