On Monday, First Lady Diana Nausėdienė met with Salome Zourabichvili, President of Georgia, who is visiting Lithuania, in Ukrainian Center.

The President was briefed on the activities, services and future perspectives of the Centre, which was established on the initiative of the First Ladies of Lithuania and Ukraine.

“We have a unique space where Ukrainian families who fled the war receive non-formal education, cultural and psychosocial services. The Centre contributes to smoother integration of Ukrainians in Lithuania, at the same time it creates favourable conditions for them not to forget their culture and language, and contributes to the preservation of their identity,” said Nausėdienė.

The First Lady stressed that recently, among other activities, the Ukrainian Centre has become more and more popular for young Ukrainians to discuss democracy and European values with politicians and diplomats.

According to the First Lady, the Ukrainian Centre also has ambitions to expand its activities together with its founding partner Vytautas Magnus University. The aim is to bring together the academic community and to contribute to Ukraine’s future European perspective with expertise, research and experience.

“I am pleased that Georgia is also interested in and contributing to the Ukraine Centre. The children attending the Ukrainian Centre through the Embassy of Georgia in Vilnius have received sensitive attention from your country. We encourage you to continue and strengthen this beautiful cooperation. The Ukrainian Centre is a truly appropriate place to introduce the Ukrainian community to your country’s rich culture and long history,” emphasised D. Nausėdienė.

During the 9 months of its operation, the Ukrainian Centre has already been visited by more than 18,000 people, including high-ranking officials and guests from abroad.

Information and photos by the Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania / Eitvydas Kinaitis