Lithuania which would shortly be a member State of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), could serve as a link between the European Union and its neighbouring Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries.  Lithuania cooperated actively with a number of the CIS countries and had proposed Vilnius to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a possible location for a regional centre for development cooperation.
La Lituanie, qui sera bientôt membre de l'Union européenne et de l'OTAN, peut servir de lien entre l'Union européenne et ses voisins de la CEI, avec nombre desquels elle coopère activement, et elle a proposé au PNUD d'accueillir à Vilnius un centre régional de coopération pour le développement.