On Tuesday, the consulate in Visby was opened by the Lithuanian and Swedish foreign ministers, Linas Linkevičius and Carl Bildt, Lithuania's Foreign Ministry said.
In Linkevičius' words, Gotland embodies beautiful historical connections of the Baltic region and is in a superb strategic location, which allows further promotion of business, tourism, cultural, and academic exchange.
Speaking about relations between Lithuania and Sweden, Bildt recalled Lithuanian freedom fighter Jonas Pajaujis who lived on Gotland for long years of the Cold War and was a symbolic link between Gotland and occupied Lithuania.
In the presentation of the new honorary consul Dalia Andersson, Lithuania's Ambassador to Sweden Eitvydas Bajarūnas has noted that the Lithuanian honorary consulate on the Swedish island of Gotland, which is the closest one to Lithuania, will provide new opportunities to develop tourism, cultural, and academic exchange.
A philologist by education, Andersson was born in Vorkuta, Russia, and has been living in Gotland for years. She is currently employed at the library of the Almedalen University in Visby.
The Lithuanian and Swedish foreign ministers and their colleagues attended the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) meeting of foreign ministers in Visby on September 2-3.
