President Nausėda,
Mrs Nausėdienė,
Prime Minister,
Ministers,
Dear Friends,
It is a great pleasure for Suzanne and me to be on a state visit here in beautiful Vilnius. Thank you for the warm welcome.
I have fond memories of Lithuania. My first visit to Vilnius took place in 1992. It was a student trip from my university. Although the Soviet times were not far behind, I remember Vilnius feeling distinctively like a European city. The decades under the Soviet rule could not extinguish Lithuania’s true identity, built over centuries of history.
I admired Lithuanians then, and I admire you now. Lithuania is a wonderful example of a nation that thrives and shapes its own destiny.
Lithuania’s statehood has deep roots. Once the largest country in Europe, you stood for centuries as a formidable block to Moscow’s expansionism. Finland, a province of Sweden at the time, was not quite in the same league.
For over a hundred years, you – much like Finland – were a part of the Russian Empire. But like Finland, you never lost your identity.
Later, during the decades under the Soviet rule, your spirit remained strong. And in 1990, standing at a historic crossroads, Lithuania chose freedom. As the first republic to declare independence from the Soviet Union, it was the Lithuanians who set in motion a movement that reshaped Europe.
I remember following the events around your declaration as a young political science student in the United States. I admired the courage of your people. Little did I know that I would later be a colleague of Vytautas Landsbergis in the European Parliament.
***
Today, we are again finding ourselves at a historic crossroads. But this time, together.
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its ambitions to upend the European security architecture have brought Europe closer together. And more than that – it has brought the Baltic and Nordic countries closer together than we have ever been.
The eight Nordic and Baltic countries, the NB8, is Finland’s closest family of nations. We share both values and interests. And although our journeys have been different, we share a historic memory. We know what we are up against. And none of us wants to ever be alone again.
Finland and Lithuania understand that Ukraine’s security is intimately linked to ours. Any Finn or Lithuanian can easily imagine themselves in the shoes of our Ukrainian friends. Our support to Ukraine is unwavering. I am proud of the work Finland and Lithuania jointly do in partnership with Ukraine, including in the framework of the Shelter Coalition.
We also recognize, that we have much to learn from Ukraine. Their armed forces are the most capable in Europe. Their drones the most advanced. Ukraine can help us strengthen our security. This is one topic we discussed with our Eastern Flank allies in Bucharest, where we were with President Nausėda just yesterday.
***
Of course, as in every family, there are complicated relations and histories in our NB8 family, too.
Many Lithuanians know the story of the fork being first introduced to Finland by Catherine Jagiellon who was a Lithuanian-Polish Renaissance Princess born 500 years ago.
Princess Catherine married Prince Johan of Sweden, who at the time, was the Duke of Finland. In the old Finnish capital, Turku, the couple established a full Renaissance court and introduced radical cultural novelties like tournaments – and the fork. Without the Lithuanians, we Finns (and the Swedes) might not quite know how to behave ourselves in a table setting like this.
I take some comfort in the rest of this story: after their time in Turku, Johan and Catherine ended up in Sweden, ultimately ruling the whole country. The story is so important to us that, last summer, in preparation for this visit, Suzanne and I went to watch a play about Catherine Jagiellon at the outdoor theatre in Turku.
***
Another sore point in our relationship is basketball. Of course.
Last September, Suzanne and I were joined in Tampere by President Nausėda and Mrs Nausėdienė to watch Finland and Lithuania play. Although our team played a solid game, the result was 81–78 to Lithuania. But in the long run, I remain optimistic. Finland’s trajectory has been more than encouraging. In EuroBasket in 1939, Lithuania gave us a thrashing with 112–9. We have really come a long way since then! But just to be on the safe side: could I ask you to kindly stop practicing for a while so we can catch up?
***
To conclude, I would like to set our sights on the future. I am accompanied by a delegation of nearly 30 companies, representing key sectors from defence to digital networks, from civil protection to the built environment.
We already cooperate closely. But we can go much further. We can deepen our partnership, expand our innovation, and strengthen our shared resilience. I hope this state visit will serve as an impetus to that.
Once again, thank you.
