"Specific contingency plans for the Baltic States and the extension of air policing mission are highly important achievements in terms of security of the Lithuanian people which have received strong support from the United States. In the sphere of security, the United States will always be one of the most important partners and NATO allies for Lithuania," Grybauskaitė said in her farewell message to the US diplomat on Thursday.
According to the President, NATO has already benefited from the active Lithuanian-American cooperation – the Energy Security Center founded in Vilnius will become the NATO center of excelence this year.
Grybauskaitė noted that the Nuclear Security Center, which had been set up jointly by the two countries, would also contribute to promoting regional cooperation in the fight against nuclear weapons smuggling.
As a country striving for energy independence, Lithuania especially values the support of the United States for the energy projects implemented in Lithuania, the President said.
Derse has been ambassador to Lithuania since October 2009. Before then, she headed the US Embassy in Azerbaijan and served in US diplomatic missions in Iraq, the European Union, Singapore, and Trinidad and Tobago.
