March 13, Rukla, Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anušauskas met with Minister of Defence of Croatia Mario Banožić on a visit to meet with his troops in Lithuania. Ministers discussed bilateral security and defence operation, the importance and necessity of the assistance to Ukraine and priorities on the agenda of the NATO Summit in Vilnius. Minister A. Anušauskas thanked Croatia for the contribution in strengthening deterrence and defence in the Baltic region.
“We thank Croatia for being active in contributing units to the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group Lithuania. It significantly fortifies deterrence in the eastern flank of NATO,” said Minister A. Anušauskas. Croatia currently has a company with Patria fighting vehicles in Lithuania. Minister also noted that host Nation Support and improvement of services for Allied forces remained among top Lithuania’s priorities. Relevant infrastructure projects are well underway in Lithuania and storage, combat training opportunities are developed.
Minister of National Defence underscored the input of Croatia in European cybersecurity: thanked him for the support and active participation in the Lithuania-coordinated Cyber Rapid Response Teams (CRRTs) project. Croatia leads the fifth CRRT rotation since the start of this year.
Lithuania is actively preparing for the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius which is expected to bring fundamental decisions on deterrence and defence. Minister of National Defence voiced hopes of support in advancing those aims to the Croatian counterpart.