This article covers India's recognition of Lithuania, the establishment of diplomatic relations, the high-level and ministerial visits in both directions, parliamentary exchanges, the India Lithuania Forum and the political and legal agreements between the two countries. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) brief of June 2026.

Recognition and diplomatic relations

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, India recognised Lithuania, along with the other Baltic States, Latvia and Estonia, on 7 September 1991, after independence. Diplomatic relations were established on 25 February 1992.

The first political contact between India and independent Lithuania took place in June 1992. The then Prime Minister of India, Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao, met Mr. Vytautas Landsbergis, the first Head of State of independent Lithuania, during the Rio Summit.

Visits from India

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, paid an official visit to Lithuania from 17 to 19 August 2019. He led a high-level delegation that included Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State for HRD, Communications, Electronics and IT, and three Members of Parliament. The brief describes this as the first high-level visit from India to Lithuania since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992.

During the visit, the Vice President held delegation-level talks with President Nauseda and met the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas). He also visited Kaunas, which the brief describes as the second-largest city in Lithuania, where he met the Mayor and visited Kaunas Technical University. Three MOUs were signed during the visit, one of them an exchange of protocols for implementing the Extradition Treaty.

Other visits from India recorded in the brief:

  • May 2017: a delegation led by the Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri M.J. Akbar, visited Lithuania in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of bilateral relations. He addressed the ASEM Conference on Women's Empowerment in Vilnius and held bilateral discussions with the Foreign Minister of Lithuania.
  • July 2016: Vice President Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari held a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Lithuania, Algirdas Butkevičius, on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Ulaanbaatar.
  • March 2011: Minister of State for External Affairs Mrs. Preneet Kaur visited Vilnius. She called on the Lithuanian President and the Prime Minister and met the Foreign Minister, the Minister of Economy, the Deputy Speaker and other Parliamentarians.
  • July 2011: Ms Preneet Kaur visited Vilnius again to attend a Ministerial meeting of the Community of Democracies (COD).
  • Earlier visits by Ministers of State for External Affairs: Shri Anand Sharma in March 2007, Shri Rao Inderjit Singh in October 2005 and Shri Salman Khurshid in August 1995.

Visits from Lithuania

  • February 2026: Lithuania's Minister of Economy and Innovation, H.E. Mr. Edvinas Griksas, and Vice Foreign Minister Mr. Tarimas Valys participated in the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi from 19 to 20 February 2026.
  • September 2025: Vice Foreign Minister Mr. Julius Pranevicius met Secretary (West) in New Delhi during a visit to India.
  • February 2024: Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis participated in the Raisina Dialogue.
  • April 2022: Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis visited India for the Seventh Raisina Dialogue. He called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar.
  • October 2017: the then Foreign Minister, Linas Linkevicius, visited New Delhi in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The Extradition Treaty was signed during the visit.
  • July 2015: Minister of State Shri V.K. Singh met the Lithuanian Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrius Krivas, on the sidelines of the Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies (COD) on 23 July 2015.
  • November 2014: Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Mantvydas Bakevius visited India.
  • November 2011: Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Ms. Asta Skaisgirytė Liauškienė visited India.
  • December 2009: Foreign Minister Mr. Vygaudas Ušackas visited India and met External Affairs Minister Shri S.M. Krishna and the Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Shri Farooq Abdullah.
  • February 2001: President Valdas Adamkus paid a State Visit to India, accompanied by his wife and Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis. He met the President of India, Shri K.R. Narayanan, Vice President Shri Krishna Kant, Prime Minister Shri A.B. Vajpayee, External Affairs Minister Shri Jaswant Singh and the Leader of the Opposition, Smt. Sonia Gandhi. Three bilateral agreements were signed during the visit.
  • September 1995: Prime Minister Adolfas Slezevicius visited India.

Parliamentary exchanges

The brief records visits from the Lithuanian Parliament in 1993 and in January 2003. On the second occasion, the Vice Chairman (Deputy Speaker) of the Seimas, Mr. Gintaras Steponavicius, and the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Gediminas Kirkilas, attended the Inter-Parliamentary Conference marking the Golden Jubilee of the Indian Parliament.

A Lithuanian Parliamentary delegation led by Deputy Speaker Mr. Algis Kaseta visited India in November 2010 as guests of the Public Diplomacy Division and met Mrs. Preneet Kaur. The Speaker of the Indian Parliament, Ms. Sumitra Mahajan, met the Chairperson of the Lithuanian Parliament in New York in October 2015.

From 9 to 14 August 2022, a two-member Lithuanian Parliamentary delegation led by Mr. Mykolas Majauskas, Head of the Inter-Parliamentary Relations with India Group, visited India. The delegation met Members of Parliament Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Dr. Mahesh Sharma.

India Lithuania Forum

The India Lithuania Forum was inaugurated in the Lithuanian Parliament in September 2010, following an initiative of the Lithuanian Parliament and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania. According to the brief, the forum provides support to various NGOs, individuals and institutions that are interested in India, in fields including culture, education, business and science.

The brief's list of agreements signed between India and Lithuania covers trade and economic cooperation, investment, taxation, agriculture, culture, air services and visas. The political and legal instruments on the list are:

  • Protocol on Bilateral Consultations between the Foreign Offices (Aug. 1995)
  • Extradition Treaty (signed in October 2017 and ratified in August 2019)