On 8 September, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway Erna Solberg will pay an official visit to Lithuania with a delegation including Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen. The guests are going to visit Gen. Silvestras Žukauskas Training Area in Pabradė (Švenčionys district) and meet Norwegian troops serving in NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group as well as observe their exercises.
The delegation will be accompanied by Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis. Norway contributes to the enhancement of security of the Baltic countries and assigns its troops to the German-led enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group in Lithuania. At present, a Norwegian tank company is deployed in Lithuania conducting its mission from the middle of July to February 2020. In total, there are about 120 Norwegian troops in Lithuania. They also have brought tanks Leopard and infantry fighting vehicles CV90.
Later, R. Karoblis and his Norwegian counterpart F. Bakke-Jensen will discuss further enhancement of cooperation of the two countries in the field of defence, the agenda of the forthcoming meeting of NATO defence ministers and the situation in Belarus.
During the visit to Lithuania, the Norwegian delegation will also meet with the President of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania Saulius Skvernelis.
For the attention of media
There are two options:
1. Observe the visit of the Norwegian delegation to General Silvestras Žukauskas Training Ares on September 8, at 8.45-9.30 hrs.
2. Short meeting of Lithuanian and Norwegian Defence Ministers with media representatives at the Ministry of National Defence at 15.00 hrs.
Media representatives wishing to photograph and film the Norwegian delegation’s visit to General S. Žukauskas Training Area in Pabradė (Švenčionys district) are invited to register by September 7, 11 hrs. via e-mail:
[email protected] (indicate name, surname, media means, contact phone number and e-mail address). Contact person for registration and arrival at the training area is SSgt Sigitas Stacevičius, tel. +370 657 48397.
Media representatives wishing to participate in the meeting of the Norwegian and Lithuanian Defence Ministers with the media at the Ministry of National Defence are also invited to register by 7 September, 11 hrs. via e-mail: [email protected] (indicate name, surname, media means, contact phone number and e-mail address).
Freelance journalists and persons preparing public information without a contract with the media, as well as journalists representing foreign media, must have an accreditation issued by the Ministry of National Defence. For this accreditation, please contact Strategic Communications and Public Relations Department of the Ministry of National Defence via e-mail [email protected].
Only media representatives who have registered in time and are accredited by the Ministry of National Defence will be admitted to the event.
Media representatives are invited to arrive to General S. Žukauskas Training Area until 8.10 hrs.
