"The meeting with King Harald V took place as planned and for the time planned. A fire alarm went off at the palace but the president was not evacuated. It soon emerged that it was a false alarm," Daiva Ulbinaitė, spokeswoman for Grybauskaitė, told BNS.
In the meeting, Grybauskaitė and the King of Norway discussed cooperation between the Baltic and the Nordic states, one of Lithuania's key foreign policy objectives.
"The president emphasized that cooperation between the Nordic and the Baltic states remains among the foreign policy priorities for our country. In her words, power links under construction with Sweden and Finland, a functioning energy market and a unified position on responsible fiscal discipline is the best proof that the cooperation is not only exceptional but that it also produces specific tangible results," the President's Office said.
According to the press release, Grybauskaitė, who is on a working visit in Norway, also discussed bilateral relations, NATO matters and Lithuania's upcoming presidency over the European Union (EU) Council. In Grybauskaitė's words, it is in Lithuania's interest to see the EU as a strong, competitive, and a financially stable organization.
"For more than 20 years, Lithuania has been feeling strong support from Norway. The country was one of the first states to recognize Lithuania's independence and it has been consistently supporting Lithuania's aim for energy independence. Our countries are reliable allies not only in the Nordic-Baltic region but also in NATO. We enjoy successful cooperation in economy, security, energy and culture," she said.
This is Grybauskaitė's second meeting with King Harald V. Two years ago, the Lithuanian president paid a state visit to Norway on the occasion of 20 years of diplomatic relations.
Her agenda also includes a meeting with Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
