On March 3 Vice Minister of National Defence Orijana Mašalė and Minister of Finance Rimantas Šadžius visited Duke Vaidotas Infantry Battalion in Rokantiškės with Minister of Finance of Luxembourg Gilles Roth on a visit in Lithuania. They discussed defence spending, priorities of Lithuania’s defence capability development and further cooperation with Luxembourg.
Vice Minister O. Mašalė thanked Luxembourg for the long-standing contribution to the security of the Baltic states and financial assistance to the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and underscored the necessity to urgently pace up defence investment.
“Principled European action is a matter of our national security. We must increase investment in the critical European defence capabilities and strengthen the defence industry. Lithuania is doing its homework –we invest substantially in Host Nation Support capabilities and weaponry systems,” said Vice Minister.
O. Mašalė also underscored that the NATO collective defence remains the European security guarantee, therefore EU and NATO capability building priorities had to be harmonized as we join effort to strengthen the allied security.
“We underscore the need to ensure sufficient resources for strengthening the European defence capabilities with more financing at national level and through instruments designed for the purpose at EU level. We have also discussed the need to ensure that the financial assistance to Ukraine has to be consistent t and sufficient to sustain its resilience in countering the Russian aggression. Lithuania and Luxembourg remain united on increasing the European defence spending and solidarity with Ukraine,” says Minister of Finance Rimantas Šadžius.
Luxembourg has given nearly EUR 3 million in assistance since 2013 to the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Most of it went to the Lithuanian Air Force and the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states.
Luxembourg has been contributing troops to the NATO Multinational Battle Group Lithuanian since 2017 to ensure its logistical support, as well as to international NATO exercises held in Lithuania.
Photo credits: Alfredas Pliadis / MoD.
