On February 17, 2020, in Vilnius, the official opening of the new Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Bulgaria took place, with Honorary Consul Mr. Laurinas Jonusauskas and with the Consular District - the territory of the Republic of Lithuania.

The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation of Lithuania, Mr. Marius Skuodis, high-ranking officials of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the EC Representation, Ambassadors and diplomats, as well as a group of Bulgarians permanently resident in the country.

Ambassador Emil Yalnazov gave an address to the new Honorary Consul on behalf of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ms Ekaterina Zaharieva and shared their personal satisfaction with the fact that Bulgaria is opening an Honorary Consulate in Lithuania, emphasizing the close friendly and allied relations between the two countries. The Ambassador noted that the opening of the Bulgarian representation symbolically coincides with the celebration of the national holiday of Lithuania and the 102nd anniversary of the declaration of independence. The Ambassador solemnly handed over to Mr. Laurinas Jonusauskas the original consular patent, with which the Bulgarian Government appointed him Honorary Consul.

On behalf of the Lithuanian MFA, the Honorary Consul was officially given consular exequatur for the territory of Lithuania.

Mr Jonusauskas thanked him for his confidence and confirmed his desire to work for the development of bilateral relations, with an emphasis on trade, economic and cultural exchanges between institutions, companies and citizens of both countries. Along with the official opening of the Honorary Consul's office in the art gallery, the exhibition of Bulgarian artist Ivayla Zhivkova, resident in Poland, was presented.

Prior to the ceremony, Ambassador Jalnazov and Mr Jonusauskas presented a wreath at the tomb of a prominent Lithuanian politician and statesman, Jonas Basanavičius, the founder of the modern Lithuanian state in 1918, who during his stay in Bulgaria in the late 19th and early 20th centuries contributed significantly to the development of Bulgarian medical science.