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Leaders of foreign states congratulate Lithuania on March 11

Thursday, March 11, Vilnius - On the occasion of March 11, the Day of Restoration of Independence in Lithuania, President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė and all people of Lithuania were congratulated by leaders of France, Russia, Germany, the European Commission, and the European Union Member States.

"I am very happy that the strategic partnership created by signing a political declaration during our meeting on September 4 last year has brought France and Lithuania still closer together. Our cooperation, especially in energy and long-term development, is very promising. I intend to give full attention to our partnership within the European Union, too," a letter from President Nicolas Sarkozy of France reads.

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev writes in his letter of congratulations that Russia is willing to develop good neighbourhood and constructive relations with Lithuania, built on mutual respect and consideration to each other's interests. According to Medvedev, Lithuania and Russia are united not only by cooperation in various areas of intergovernmental relations but also by their long common history.

President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, underlines in his congratulatory letter that Lithuania has made impressive achievements in the past twenty years.

The EC President writes that Lithuania is proud today of being a member of the European Union, together with the other twenty-six Member States which support such values as human rights, rights of a citizen, and rights of ethnic communities, entrenched in the Act on the Restoration of the Independent State of Lithuania, and that Lithuania has injected new dynamism into the European Union.

President Horst Köhler of the Federal Republic of Germany underlines in his congratulations to Lithuania that Lithuanians not only managed to restore independence 20 years ago, but also rebuild their country and bring it to the European Union. According to the German leader, Lithuania's integration into the EU will enable the country to face present and future challenges successfully.

On the occasion of Lithuania's national holiday, March 11, Lithuania was also congratulated by leaders of the neighboring countries, other European Union Member States, and other countries of the world.