Philippines, Lithuania hold inaugural political consultations

The Undersecretary of Bilateral Relations and Affairs of the ASEAN Theresa P. Lazaro co-chaired the inaugural Philippines-Lithuania Political Consultations with Undersecretary for Political Affairs Egidijus Meilūnas of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania in Manila on June 20, 2024.

During the consultations, Under Secretary Lazaro welcomed the accelerated pace of engagements between the two countries, particularly the recent meeting between Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Both countries recognized the potential to expand cooperation, deepen economic and sectoral ties, and identify partnership opportunities between the Philippines and Lithuania.

The Chinese embassy inaugurates a photographic and ceramic exhibition in Caracas

Undersecretary Lazaro stated that “the strength of our bilateral relationship, as like-minded partners, will be forged through continued dialogue and cooperation in practical areas that benefit our peoples.”

The Co-Chairs expressed their desire to advance discussions on various areas of cooperation, particularly on consular, defense and maritime issues. They also recognized that the Philippines and Lithuania could explore exchanges in digitalization and e-government, cybersecurity, energy, and science and technology, all of which play an important role in enabling accountability, transparency and resilience in both the public and private sectors.

Both countries recognized the potential to expand cooperation, deepen economic and sectoral ties, and identify partnership opportunities between the Philippines and Lithuania.

In addition, the Philippine and Lithuanian delegations discussed sectoral cooperation in the areas of maritime, trade and investment, science and technology, consular and people-to-people exchanges. They also exchanged views on various regional and international issues of mutual interest, particularly on geopolitical developments in the Indo-Pacific, the West Philippine Sea, Europe and the Middle East.