News

On 10 November 2020, Ambassador Andrius Kalindra visited the town of Borjomi, where he held a meeting with the acting mayor of Borjomi municipality and deputy chairperson of the Assembly of Borjomi municipality.

During the meeting, the Ambassador emphasized the importance of bilateral relations between Lithuania and Georgia as well as the excellent reputation and recognition of the city of Borjomi not only in Lithuania, but also around the world. The issues of local elections, current situation with regard to the Covid-19, tourism and Georgia's Parliamentary elections, held on 31 October, were also discussed. An important topic of the conversation was the issue of national minorities in the Samtske-Javakheti region, which, according to the mayor, is home to about 200,000 people of Armenian descent. The Ambassador noted the importance of cooperation between Lithuania and Georgia on the issue of national minorities and discussed the possibilities of future meetings in Lithuania and Georgia.

The issue of historical memory was also touched upon during the meeting. The Ambassador expressed concern about the current condition of the monument dedicated to the memory of Antanas Vilkutaitis-Keturakis and discussed specific plans for the restoration of the monument together with the mayor and experts of the Borjomi municipality.

Antanas Vilkutaitis-Keturakis, a famous Lithuanian playwright, publicist and presumed author of the first Lithuanian comedy "America in the Sauna", graduated from the prestigious Road Institute in Petrapilis in 1891 and was appointed as a road engineer in Georgia. He lived here for more than a decade (1891–1902), of which two years he spent (1893–1894) in Borjomi, managing the construction of a railway section to Borjomi. The most mature works of A. Vilkutaitis were written the Borjomi Valley, while he was surrounded with amazing beauty of nature. In 2012, a monument to A. Vilkutaitis-Keturakis was unveiled next to the old railway station of Borjomi.