BILATERAL RELATIONS BETWEEN ALBANIA AND LITHUANIA

Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is one of the Baltic countries in Europe. Lithuania is bordered with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) to the southwest. Lithuania covers an area of 65,300 km2 and has a population of 2.8 million inhabitants. The capital and largest city is Vilnius. The official language is Lithuanian.

Lithuania is a semi-presidential republic. The head of state is the president, directly elected for a five-year term and serving a maximum of two terms. The unicameral parliament, the Seimas, has 141 members, who are elected to four-year terms. 71 of the members of its members are elected in single-member constituencies and the others in a nationwide vote by proportional representation.

OVERVIEW

There are no open issues between the two countries. There is a common will to further strengthen the relations and to intensify the cooperation between the two countries in all areas of mutual interest. Lithuania has a firm position regarding its support for Albania’s EU integration process and in particular for the opening of negotiations. In this context, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Mr. Linas Linkevičius, together with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Poland and Latvia, as well as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, paid a visit to Albania, on 04-05 March 2020 with the aim of delivering a strong message of support for Albania’s efforts to opening of negotiations with the EU.

 

Albania remains in solidarity with the Baltic States, as a NATO member, with its troops to the NATO multinational battalion, the enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in Adazi, Latvia.

Political dialogue is considered one of the main pillars of bilateral relations. There is interest in intensifying the exchanges at various levels. In this context, on 4 May 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding for Bilateral Consultations was signed between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs.

The recent visits include the visit in Tirana of the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr.  Gabrielius Landsbergis, on 4 May 2022 and the visit in Lithuania of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ditmir Bushati, in February 2018, as part of a Baltic Tour. On 20 July 2020, the Acting Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gent Cakaj, held a joint video conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Mr. Linas Linkevičius, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Mr. Edgars Rinkēvičs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Mr. Urmas Reinsalu.

BILATERAL RELATIONS

The Verbal Note of the Lithuanian side for the agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Lituania and Albania is dated 27 April 1992 (in response to our Note dated 12 February 1992) and it was forwarded to the Albanian Embassy in Stockholm on 30 April 1992. This exchange of Notes would be considered as an agreement between the two countries for the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Intensification of bilateral and multilateral political dialogue with Lithuania remains important. Lithuania has always supported Albania on its path to NATO membership and European integration in the EU. Lithuania has supported Kosovo and maintained a constructive stand towards it.

The diplomatic coverage is realized by non-resident ambassadors, the relations with Lithuania are covered by the Embassy of the Republic of Albania in Warsaw, Poland, while the relations with Albania are covered by the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Athens, Greece. The Honorary Consul of Lithuania in Albania is Mr. Kastriot Haska. Meanwhile, during 2020, Mr. Darius Pinkevicius was appointed as Honorary Consul of Albania in Lithuania.