National Defense Minister Gediminas Kirkilas to pay a visit to Armenia

Blackanthem.com, MI
Blackanthem.com, VILNIUS, Lithuania, April 4, 2005

On Monday, 4 April Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Gedminas
Kirkilas and him accompanying delegation will leave for a two-day
visit to Armenia.

An agenda for the first visit day (5 April) is scheduled to include G.
Kirkilas~R meeting with the Armenian Minister of Defense Serzh
Sargsyan. The ministerial meeting is likely to address a bilateral
co-operation in the field of defense, prospect of multinational and
regional military co-operation, NATO enlargement processes, reform
of the armed forces and participation in international operations.

The visit agenda also includes a visit to the War Institute, meeting
with leadership and training panel of the Institute. Later in the
day the Minister is also scheduled to pay a visit to Echmiatsin to
meet the Catholics of All Armenians, His Holiness Garegin II.

On Wednesday, 6 April, G Kirkilas is expected to meet with Prime
Minister of Armenia Andranik Margaryan, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Vardan Oskanyan and Chairman of the National Assembly, Defense,
Domestic Affairs and National Security Committee Mher Shahgeldyan.

During the visit, the Lithuanian Minister of National Defense will
lay a flower wreath at the memorial to genocide victims, visit the
Manuscript Depository and the Armenian National Gallery.

An agreement concerning co-operation in the filed of defense between
Lithuania and Armenia was signed in 2002. During a visit by the
Armenian Minister of Defense S.Sargsyan to Lithuanian in the autumn
2004, another agreement on military studies of Armenian military
personnel at the Military Academy of Lithuania was signed. This year
two Armenian military personnel are undertaking studies of the English
Language and another two officers are improving their military skills
at an international Captains~R course at the Lithuanian Military
Academy in Vilnius.

National Defense Minister Gediminas Kirkilas and him accompanying
delegation is expected back to Vilnius on Wednesday, 6 April.