Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to arrive Thursday in Lithuania for a four-day visit during which he will also meet his Latvian and Estonian counterparts, local officials and the Jewish community.
Netanyahu, making the first visit to Lithuania by an Israeli prime minister, will be met by Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, Netanyahu will attend a summit of the Baltic states and will meet with Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis, Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis and Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas.
The four leaders will discuss deepening the cooperation between their countries.
Netanyahu will also meet with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite at the presidential palace.
Lithuania, a member of the European Union, has not followed Washington in recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and supports Iran's nuclear deal despite opposition from the United States and Israel.
"This visit is a very good chance to further build the strategic partnership both countries demonstrated an interest to develop," Marius Laurinavicius, a senior expert at the Vilnius Institute for Policy Analysis, said.
"Much remains to be done, but as far as I see it, both countries share a lot of interest to make the bilateral relations more active and productive"
The Baltic nation of nearly 3 million was part of the Russian Empire before declaring its independence in 1918. Lithuania was then independent until 1940, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union. It regained its freedom in 1991 and joined the EU and NATO in 2004.
Netanyahu has roots in Lithuania – his mother's parents lived in the central village of Seduva.
More than 90% of Lithuania's 240,000 Jews were killed during World War II. The role Lithuanian soldiers played in that is sensitive, as the country mainly views itself as a victim of Nazi and Soviet occupations.
During his visit, Netanyahu also will attend a memorial ceremony at the site near Vilnius where up to 100,000 people were killed by Nazi troops and their Lithuanian collaborators and meet relatives of Lithuanians who aided Jews during the war and visit synagogues.
During the service at the Ponary memorial, Netanyahu will award a medal and certificate to Birute Slapikiene, the granddaughter of a family of Righteous among the Nations.
He is also scheduled to visit the Vilna Choral Synagogue, which survived World War II, where he will meet with members of the Lithuanian Jewish community.
