News

On 17 March, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) regarding the provision of relocation assistance.

The Memorandum of Understanding allows the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to use the assistance of the IOM for cooperation and facilitation of the relocation and related assistance to citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, persons of Lithuanian descent, persons having the right to reinstate citizenship of the Republic of Lithuania following the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Citizenship, their family members, and other persons who may be relocated following the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on the Relocation of Persons to the Republic of Lithuania, including, but not limited to, from locations where no Lithuanian representation exists.

The possibility of cooperation between Lithuanian diplomats and IOM is particularly relevant in countries where Lithuania does not have a functioning diplomatic or consular office because, in case of a humanitarian crisis, Lithuanian diplomats must cooperate with other representations of EU countries to provide the necessary assistance to Lithuanians. As a result, by signing the Memorandum of Understanding, both parties hope to contribute to a more efficient operational management of relocation processes.

IOM is a part of the United Nations system and is a leading international intergovernmental organisation working in the field of migration. IOM was established in 1951. At this moment, 174 countries are members of the Organization, and another 8 participate as observers. IOM has 480 local offices in more than 100 countries, it also employs around 15,000 staff worldwide.