India and Lithuania conducted their 9th Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in New Delhi on Tuesday, addressing various regional and multilateral concerns, including UNSC reforms and the Ukraine conflict, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) at the Ministry of External Affairs, led the Indian delegation, while the Lithuanian delegation was headed by Egidijus Meilunas, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, according to an official release from the MEA. The MEA spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, shared the event details on X and stated, “9th India-Lithuania FOC held in New Delhi today. Co-chaired by Secy (West) @SanjayVermalFS and Vice Minister @LithuaniaMFA @MeilunasE. Discussions covered bilateral, regional and multilateral issues including political, economic, consular, people-to-people contacts, UNSC reforms, Ukraine conflict and #G20India.”
9th 🇮🇳-🇱🇹 FOC held in New Delhi today.
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) November 21, 2023
Co-chaired by Secy (West) @SanjayVermalFS and Vice Minister @LithuaniaMFA @MeilunasE.
Discussions covered bilateral, regional and multilateral issues including political, economic, consular, people-to-people contacts, UNSC reforms,… pic.twitter.com/PuDLLwrKFj
Highlighting the strong and amicable bilateral relationship between India and Lithuania, the MEA noted that despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, trade between the two countries has grown in recent years. The FOC provided an opportunity for reviewing bilateral engagements and for exchanging views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, including developments in our respective neighbourhoods, EU, Ukraine conflict, India’s Presidency of G20, cooperation in multilateral fora, and UNSC reforms. Both sides also discussed furthering relations in sectors such as trade and investments, and cultural linkages, it added. Both sides agreed to hold the next round of FOC at mutually convenient dates in Vilnius. With inputs from ANI