Speeches

New Year Greetings from President Dalia Grybauskaitė

As we celebrate the New Year with joy and excitement, I wish to extend my greetings to you all.

This past year was difficult, but we came through with more life experience and wisdom. We can now look at ourselves and our pursuits more honestly. We can reflect on what each of us has done to build an open, tolerant and fair Lithuania.

Let us look back at 2009 without hard feelings. Let us remember the Millennium Odyssey, the Tricolor's Global March, the Forest of One Thousand Oaks that we planted, the World Lithuanian Song Festival, and the wave of emotion which engulfed us when we rose together - wherever we were in the world - to sing "Lithuania, Our Homeland".

Let us continue to stand in solidarity. Let us be collected and deliberate as we seek daring solutions and resolute economic reforms to get our country back on its feet. I see signs of Lithuania's recovery and I firmly believe that next year our major difficulties will be overcome.

If we all work together for the good of Lithuania, we will prevail. So let us have confidence in our own strength.

My best wishes to all of you fellow people in Lithuania! I also send my greetings to Lithuanians across the world whose love for homeland is so strong. I wish you resilience, optimism and success. May love of life, joy and fulfillment be with you forever.

Happy New Year!