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On a visit to New York, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis paid tribute to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and congratulated the pupils of Lithuanian schools in New York and New Jersey on the beginning of the new school year.

On  September 25, the Minister laid flowers at the 9/11 Memorial Wall near the New York City Fire Department. The memorial is close to the location of the destroyed Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. The memorial which serves as a lasting tribute to the sacrifices of the 343 firefighters who lost their lives in this tragedy was built in 2006.

On September 25-26, Minister Ažubalis visited Maironis Lithuanian School in New York and Dr. Vincas Kudirka Lithuanian School in New Jersey.

During the Maironis Lithuanian School’s celebration of the beginning of the school year at the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in New York, the Minister wished the pupils to always remember and take pride in being Lithuanians, to continue to take interest in the history of the country of their parents and grandparents, and to foster the Lithuanian language, culture and traditions.

This year the school marks the 60th anniversary of its uninterrupted activities. On this happy occasion, Minister Ažubalis presented a congratulatory letter to the community and wished them to continue their successful activities in the future, and to educate many generations of young Lithuanians, encouraging them to cherish great history of their nation and the state.

The Minister also congratulated the pupils of Dr. Vincas Kudirka Lithuanian School in New Jersey wishing them to seek academic excellence bravely and successfully. The pupils of the school welcomed their guest with Lithuanian songs and dances.

Minister Ažubalis urged young Lithuanians to never forget to actively participate in and to be the successors of Lithuanian activities. The Minister wished teachers and parents to have abundance of new ideas and never-ending enthusiasm in continuing the important mission to spread education among younger generation.

“I see that you are and I believe that you will always remain an integral part of Lithuania and that you will continue to be a Lithuanian island on which people will speak and sing in the Lithuanian language just like today, and every new generation will have a warm feeling in their heart for being Lithuanians,” the Minister said.

After the meeting at the school, the Minister took part in the service at Saint Peter and Paul's Church in New Jersey. In October the church will celebrate its 100th anniversary.

On September 24  Minister Ažubalis met with  Nasser Judeh, Jordan’s Foreign Minister and discussed possibilities to promote the Lithuanian-Jordanian economic relations.

Minister Ažubalis invited his Jordanian counterpart to pay a visit to Lithuania this year. A visit of Jordan’s business delegation, which could boost bilateral trade and investment flows, is also expected.

The foreign ministers spoke about Lithuanian-Jordanian cooperation in the academic field and within international organizations, and discussed the important issues of the Middle East region. Lithuania expects Jordan will  support its candidacy to the UN Security Council for the year 2014-2015.