Minister of National Defence of Lithuania Raimundas Karoblis will meet with Minister for the Armed Forces of France Florence Parly during her visit to Lithuania with the delegation of President of the Republic of France Emmanuel Macron, September 28–29.
Tuesday, September 29, the Ministers will meet bilaterally at the Ministry of National Defence to discuss regional security, bilateral cooperation, NATO and EU agendas.
Later Ministers R. Karoblis and F. Parly will accompany Lithuanian and French Presidents on the visit to Rukla to meet with the leadership of the multinational NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group and the French military contingent serving in it.
The French contingent deployed to Lithuania for six months of duty in July. Like all the other eFP contingents, the French soldiers brought their combat, logistical and administrative equipment. The maneuver unit serve with Leclerc main battle tanks and VBCI infantry fighting vehicles.
This is the fourth contingent that France deploys to implement the NATO deterrence and defence measures in the Baltic states through activities of the NATO eFPs in Lithuania and Estonia. The last time France deployed soldiers to the eFP in Lithuania was in 2018.
The NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group deployed in Lithuania since 2017 has the total strength of over 1,200 soldiers. Its framework nation is Germany and contributing nations are the Netherlands, Norway, Czech Republic, Belgium, Iceland, and Luxembourg.
For editorial offices:
Media opportunities to cover the meeting of Lithuanian and French Defence Ministers in Vilnius and the visit of the delegations of Lithuanian and French Presidents to Rukla:
• Vilnius:
1105hrs Bilateral meeting of Mr R. Karoblis and Ms F. Parly at the MoD building (Totorių g. 25) – photo, video opportunities during the official public part.
• Rukla:
Visit of President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda and President of the Republic of France Emmanuel Macron to the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group. Lithuanian and French Ministers will accompany as part of Presidential delegations. Meeting of the President of the Republic of France with French soldiers.
President of the Republic of Lithuania and Minister of National Defence are expected to talk to the press after the Lithuanian and French Presidents’ meeting.
For the Media:
To cover the meeting of President of the Republic of Lithuania and President of the Republic of France at the Lithuanian Armed Forces Lithuanian Great Hetman Jonušas Radvila Training Regiment in Rukla are invited to register until September 28, Monday, 1200 hrs, at [email protected].
Freelance and contributing reporters and foreign media representatives will need accreditation given by the MoD Strategic Communication and Public Relations Department, please contact via e-mail at [email protected].
Only media who are registered and accredited as explained above will have access to the event.
Registered media representatives should arrive at the entry to the Training Regiment territory for check-up on September 29, Tuesday, at 1430 hrs.
Media representatives will be required to wear face masks throughout the event.
More about the visit of President E.Macron in Lithuania
Defence cooperation of Lithuania and France
The two countries develop cooperation through various formats: NATO, European Union, bilaterally, etc.
France is one of the most active contributors to the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states: it has contributed eight rotations so far (five have been conducted from Šiauliai Air Base, two from Estonia, and one from Poland).
One of the best instances of Lithuania’s cooperation with France in multinational operations so far has been Lithuania’s contribution to the French national operation Sangaris in the Central African Republic. Lithuania’s contributions to international missions and operations in Mali (EUTM Mali), Central African Republic (EUTM RCA) and the UN-led operation in Mali (MINUSMA) can also be seen as concrete support to France.
The countries maintain the strategic dialogue through meetings of representatives of the Lithuanian and the French Ministries of Defence and their corresponding militaries, Lithuanian-French defence workshops.
Defence cooperation is also developed in the framework of bilateral and multilateral military exercises. The cooperation is particularly intense in the form of military training: Lithuanian officers are sent to study in military education institutions in France, academic student exchange is conducted between military academies and scientific research centres of both countries.
The two countries also cooperate on defence procurement – in 2013 the Ministry of National Defence signed a contract with the Franco-German-Spanish Eurocopter Group on procurement of three AS 365 Dauphin helicopters for the Lithuanian Armed Forces. France is also inviting representatives of Lithuania and other Baltic states to large-scale defence industry events – Eurosatory, Euronaval.
France also contributes to the activity of the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence in Vilnius as one of the framework nations, a French officer has been the second in command at the centre since 2013.
