Estonia’s president arrives in Lithuania for first state visit in over a decade

Estonia’s President Alar Karis begins a two-day state visit to Lithuania on Wednesday, marking the first such visit by an Estonian head of state in more than ten years, LRT reports.

Karis, accompanied by First Lady Sirje Karis, arrives at the invitation of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda. The visit opens with a meeting between the two presidents, who will sign a joint declaration and hold a press conference. They will also launch a Lithuanian-Estonian business forum and tour Lithuania’s new state archives.

A state dinner in honour of the Estonian delegation will be held at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday evening.

On Thursday, Karis will travel to Kaunas, where he will receive an honorary doctorate from Vytautas Magnus University and unveil a memorial plaque at the site of the former Estonian embassy. A helicopter tour to inspect progress on the Rail Baltica railway project is also planned, along with a visit to Rukla to review Lithuania’s National Division project and the deployment of a German brigade.

Discussions will focus on bilateral relations, regional security and defence, transatlantic cooperation, support for Ukraine, energy and infrastructure projects, and economic and cultural ties.

Meanwhile, First Ladies Diana Nausėdienė and Sirje Karis will hold a separate programme, including a Wednesday discussion on children’s mental health at Vilnius’s Ukrainian Centre and a visit to the new exhibition Lithuania’s Path to Energy Independence at the State Recognition Centre. On Thursday, they will tour Kaunas’s STEAM Science Island and the Neonatology Clinic at Kaunas Clinics.