Georgian President congratulates reelected Lithuanian president

The President of Georgia has extended his congratulations to Lithuania’s Dalia Grybauskaite, who was reelected as the country’s president on May 25.

The Lithuanian presidential election was held on May 11 however close results ensured no victor emerged.

A second round of voting was held on May 25, where the top two candidates of the first round faced off. It was here when Grybauskaite emerged victorious, after gaining 58 percent of votes.

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili congratulated Grybauskaite on her return to the leadership post.

"Congratulations on your victory in Lithuania's presidential election. I wish you every success and continued strength at this time of great importance to the country,” he said.

Margvelashvili wished the returning president and the people of Lithuania to unite, band together and commit to achieve its already established goals.

"I would like assure you that Georgia would not be able to defend its freedom without support of such friends as the Lithuanian republic. I am pleased Georgia initiated the Association Agreement at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius,” Margvelashvili said.

The Georgian leader emphasized that the success reached by Lithuania served as an example for Georgia. He said the "unselfish” experience shared by Lithuanian leaders was very helpful for Georgia as the country worked to develop a strong and democratic European state.

Grybauskaite, who is often referred to as the "Iron Lady" or the "Steel Magnolia", was initially sworn in as the president of Lithuania on July 12, 2009.

Earlier in her career, Grybauskaite was a Lithuanian government official before she took up the role of European Commissioner for Financial Programming and the Budget from 2004 to 2009.