Congratulatory Remarks by Ms Sue van der Merwe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs on the occasion of the National Day Celebration of the Republic of Lithuania, Thursday 31 January 2008, Sheraton Hotel, Pretoria

Ambassador Skaisgiryte Liauskiene
Your Excellencies
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is with great pleasure that I represent the people and Government of South Africa on this occasion. We wish to convey to you your Excellency, to the Government and the people of the Republic of Lithuania our congratulations on the celebration of the 90th Anniversary since Independence. We are pleased to join you in this celebration. Although the official anniversary is on February 16th, I am delighted that we are able to celebrate with you tonight.

We have already met but let me take this opportunity to formaly welcome Ambassador Skaisgiryte Liauskiene appointed as the new non-resident representative of the Republic of Lithuania to South Africa. Your Excellency, I wish you a happy and fruitful with us. 

Ambassador, our countries share close bonds and historical links through the Jewish Community based in South Africa. It has been estimated that 80% of South African Jewry are of Litvak descend.  We are proud to say that some of the prominent South African figures such as the late Mr Sammy Marks, the late Mr Joe Slovo ,Ms Helen Suzman and Mr Aron Klug, recipient of the National Award presented by President Thabo Mbeki for his exceptional contribution in the field of Medicine, were all born in Lithuania. All these individuals have made remarkable contributions to the development of our country and I would like to mention Mr Slovo’s and Ms Suzman’s contribution they made to the attainment of peace and freedom in South Africa.

Your Excellency, South Africa is proud to have a partner in Lithuania and have no doubt that we will continue to consolidate our growing bilateral relations. We will continue our efforts to develop our respective countries and do whatever we can to ensure that our continent and other developing regions of the world realise their goals of sustainable development and growth.

Both our countries agree on the importance of strengthening political and economic relations. The 2007 visit by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Jusys, whom I had the pleasure of meeting, is an example.

Trade relations between our two countries are improving and I am pleased to mention that 2007 saw the exchange of the highest trade figures to date. We are also delighted to learn that the Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce is in the process of arranging a business delegation to visit South Africa in 2008.  This will undoubtedly further enhance activities in the commercial field and will amplify trade and investment between our two countries.

We also look forward to strengthening relations in the cultural sector by promoting more understanding between our two nations. One of the projects that South Africa has noted with interest is the intended Lithuanian Art Exhibition titled “Invisible Culture Bridges: Africa and Lithuania” sponsored by the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry which will be exhibited in the latter half of 2008 in Johannesburg. We are aware that this exhibition has drawn great accolades in Geneva whilst on exhibition during the main session of ECOSOC and also in Lisbon during the December 2007 Africa-EU Summit. Many of our people were exposed to Lithuanian culture and language during the days of our own liberation struggle. This forms a solid basis for the strengthening of bilateral relations.

Madam Ambassador,

On the multilateral front, South Africa and the Republic of Lithuania have a duty to ensure that the changes that are affected at the United Nations and other multilateral institutions address the global challenge of inequality between all nations and regions. We should continue to work together so that these institutions are transformed in a way that empowers us to defeat poverty, insecurity and underdevelopment within our respective regions and indeed globally.

We in South Africa are aware of Lithuania’s support for the objectives of the African Renaissance, especially to the NEPAD programmes. Your country's assistance within the context of the European group of countries will substantially assist in achieving the goals of the NEPAD programme.

The possibilities for further co-operation between South Africa and Lithuania are great, and that our common vision for a more secure world will enable us to identify opportunities to enhance the creation of a better world for our respective peoples.

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please join me in raising our glasses as we toast to the prosperity of the people and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, and to the friendship between our nations.