On April 7, Arancha González Laya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain, visited the VU LSC.
At VU LSC, Ms González Laya met with the director Prof. Gintaras Valinčius who told her about the history of the Center, which has many examples of research cooperation with Spain. The minister was also shown the laboratory, where she met Dr Aurelijus Burokas, who had worked in Spain for a number of years.
The Minister, in turn, also welcomed the opportunity to visit the LSC and praised the cooperation between Lithuanian and Spanish scientists.
Arancha González Laya is an expert in international relations and trade with more than 20 years of professional experience. She was appointed as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain on 13 January 2020. Ms González Laya has focused intensively on sustainability and on women’s role in society. In 2015, she set up an initiative “SheTrades” whose purpose is to connect three million women entrepreneurs by the year 2021. In addition, Ms González Laya and 28 other female leaders from all over the world have collected and published a compilation of essays titled Women Shaping Global Economic Governance. At the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference Ms González Laya was one of the initiators of the Buenos Aires Declaration which has the purpose to promote women’s economic empowerment in the world. She was also the initiator of the first event of the “Trade for Sustainable Development Forum”. The conference focused on the problems of green trade and sought for solutions to the challenges posed by climate change.