Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday met at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė.
They first met privately and then held an expanded meeting, with the participation of the Director of the National Security Council, the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, the Prime Minister's Diplomatic Adviser and the two countries' ambassadors.
Netanyahu said, during the meeting, "Lithuania and Israel have excellent relations, which are going to become even stronger, even better in your visit. And you're indeed a welcome friend here in Jerusalem."
The two leaders discussed regional issues, especially the Iranian threat. Prime Minister Netanyahu said that a nuclear Iran would harm regional stability and threaten the entire world.
They also discussed at length cooperation in a range of areas, including innovation, cyber and artificial intelligence.
Šimonytė later thanked Netanyahu on Twitter.
"Deep historical Lithuanian-Israeli ties & our friendship is what we're proud of & will continue to foster," she wrote. "Our partnership is even more important as democracies have to defend the rules-based world order. Aggression must not pay for any autocrat."
On Sunday, Šimonytė spoke at the opening plenary session of AJC Global Forum in Tel Aviv and said her nation stands with Israel in stemming the threat posed by Iran’s growing nuclear capability.
When it comes to Iran’s spread of terror around the world, the Lithuanian Prime Minister said that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ support for terrorism should be countered by “expanding the use of all instruments in the EU toolbox.”
She went on to note that Lithuania backed European Union sanctions last year on Iranian entities and generals for providing drones to Russia to use in Ukraine. She also added that Iran’s support of terrorist groups that potentially threaten Israel have not gone unnoticed.
“I want to reassure you we will continue pushing for more sanctions. But at the same time, we all know that Israel's defensive systems remain the best antidote against Iranian weapons,” she said.