Ambassador Solveiga Silkalna Visits Western Lithuania

On April 13–15, Ambassador Solveiga Silkalna visited Western Lithuania — the towns of Klaipėda, Šventoji, Būtingė  and Kretinga — during her regional visit.

On April 15, the Ambassador discussed the potential of economic cooperation with Arvidas Vaitkas, the Mayor of Klaipėda, the third largest city in Lithuania. The Ambassador visited the University of Klaipeda, where she met with the rector and vice-rectors, and visited the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, where there is a possibility to study Baltistics. The Ambassador visited the Kretinga Day Activity Center, a successful EU Latvia–Lithuania Interreg cooperation project. Finally, she had a conversation with Liepāja Mayor Gunārs Ansiņš focusing on the cooperation between Liepāja and towns in Lithuania as well as discussing future plans.

The Ambassador also used the opportunity to get to know the local Latvian community and its history by participating in the concert Baltu kulturas banga, which was organised by Gotfrydas Tapinas, head of the Latvian association of the Klaipėda district, Atpūta. S. Silkalna also visited Miķelis Balčus in Šventoji and got acquainted with his collection of antiques. The Ambassador visited the cemeteries of Šventoji and Būtingė and participated in a service in the Lutheran church of Būtingė, which is held in Latvian and Lithuanian. The Ambassador thanked the participants for preserving the memory of the Latvian language and local traditions.

Photo by Solveiga Silkalna