Sweden admires what Lithuania has done in the fight against disinformation, as well as moves to improve cybersecurity during elections, Maria Christina Lundqvist, the outgoing Swedish ambassador to Lithuania, said in an interview with LRT.lt.
“We admire what Lithuania is doing in the field of disinformation and cybersecurity. I think we learned a lot [from Lithuania],” the ambassador said.
During her four-year term in Vilnius, Lithuania and Sweden “established cooperation between the voluntary forces” of the two countries’ militaries.
The Scandinavian country also shared experience “on total defence because we have realised in Sweden that [security] depends not only on the military, but also on the civilian side”.
Sweden has recently reintroduced a permanent military presence in Gotland, an island in the Baltic Sea. The ambassador said that the security has become one of the main priorities of Sweden amid the growing tensions with Russia in the region.
“We are not members of NATO, but we are very close to it. […] We also participate in [NATO military] exercises, for example, BALTOPS in the Baltic region,” said Lundqvist.
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She also mentioned that Sweden’s foreign policy is centred on the promotion of human rights, which was also important during her term in Lithuania.
“We work a lot with LGL [a Lithuanian LGBT+ rights organisation], Vaikų Linija [support centre for children and teenagers], the Disability Forum […]. We have also established cooperation on hate crime between Swedish and Lithuanian police.
“And to focus on human rights and encourage people on a grassroots level, two years ago we established, together with the Equality ombudsman, a human rights award.”
The ambassador stressed the “stable, close, and long” relationship between the two countries.
“Sweden’s was the first embassy to reopen here [in Lithuania] after it regained independence,” the ambassador said.
She also recalled that Lithuania was “one of the first countries to come with helicopters and help us extinguish” fires that raged throughout much of Sweden in 2018.
“I think Lithuania has made a fantastic journey during these last 30 years [of independence],” she added.
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