Speaker of the Seimas in Geneva discussed the issues of nuclear safety, Ukraine and Lithuanian participation at CERN
Speaker of the Seimas H. E. Mr. Viktoras Pranckietis was in Geneva for an official visit on 24-27 April. Member of the Seimas Mr. Eugenijus Gentvilas has accompanied Mr Pranckietis during this visit.
On 25 April, the delegation, led by the Speaker of the Seimas, met with the Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mr Martin Chungong, who was congratulated by Mr Pranckietis on his re-election for the second term (2018-2022) as the Secretary-General at the elections that took place at the IPU Assembly held in Dhaka, Bangladesh this April. During the meeting, Mr Pranckietis stressed that by closely cooperating with the United Nations the IPU contributes to finding solutions to international issues, enhances the protection of human rights and promotes parliamentary democracy. Last year Lithuania celebrated its 25th anniversary of the renewal of its membership in the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
On 26 April, Lithuania’s parliamentary delegation met with the Direcotr General of the United Nations Office in Geneva, Mr. Michael Møller. Speaker of the Seimas had an opportunity to thank Mr. Møller for his participation at the conference commemorating the 25th anniversary of Lithuania's membership in the UN held in Lithuania last year. At the meeting with the Director General the Lithuanian delegation also discussed the situation in Syria and Ukraine, and possible solutions to these conflicts, nuclear safety and the issue of the construction of the nuclear power plant in Astravets, Belarus, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and Lithuania’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council for the term of 2022-2024.
On 26 April, the delegation visited the European Organization for Nuclear Research (commonly known as CERN), where they met with the Director-General Dr Fabiola Gianotti and were introduced to CERN’s work. Lithuania is currently preparing to become an Associate Member of CERN. The agreement on the associate membership is expected to be submitted for ratification by the Seimas shortly.
