On February 14 Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakalienė delivered the keynote address at the conference “New Defence: How to Maximize the Potential of Our Industry” co-organized by the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and the Bavarian Industry Association (VBW) during her visit in Germany.
The Conference attended by over 200 representatives of the field of politics, business and science addressed key issues of the defence industry of today: building an innovation-friendly defence ecosystem, ensuring more funding and availability of new technologies for strengthening national security, effective readiness for future defensive scenarios and countering modern threats.
“russia has carried out at least military invasions in the past three decades. It has been rewarded for each, war after war, invasion after invasion. Currently, russia is producing and spending more on war industry that the whole Europe. We need to step up our production right away rather than wait for the war to arrive. Europe must become stronger, or we will be pushed aside,” spoke Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakalienė to representatives of the Federation of German Industries.
Minister underscored in the address the necessity for Lithuanian and German cooperation not just bilaterally but also Europewise. “The unique Lithuanian-German defence partnership has become a cornerstone in the European security architecture in these trying times, our deepening cooperation has been underpinned additionally by the Rheinmetall commitment. Together, we are creating a more resilient and independent European defence industry,” Minister said. She pointed out that the recent deal signed with Germany on production of 155 mm artillery shells in Lithuania is an example of optimized organization of the European defence industry processes.
When addressing assistance to Ukraine, D. Šakalienė stressed the need to invest in Ukraine’s defence industry. “A strong and independent defence industry of Ukraine is critical not just for security of the war-torn nation but also for the collective defence capabilities of the entire Europe. It is a matter of urgency to prioritize establishment of Ukraine’s military industry units in Europe to ensure uninterrupted production and logistical support,” said Minister D. Šakalienė.
During the visit in Munich Minister will also meet with representative of the German industry giant Rheinmetall to discuss potential directions of deeper cooperation to reduce dependence on exterior suppliers, strengthen defence industry integration in the region and to attract additional tech innovation to Lithuania. Minister will have bilateral meetings with top executives of Sweden’s SAAB and U.S. Amazon Web Services.
Minister’s agenda also includes bilateral meetings with Minister of Defence of Armenia Suren Papikyan, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Defense Kazuhiro Kobayashi, Minister of Defence of Croatia Ivan Anušič, Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland), Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Minister for Defence Simon Harris and Minister of Defence of Belgium Theo Francken.
Another crucial debate initiated by the Federal Ministry of Defence concerns personnel selection across Europe, in particular, strengthening the role of women in uncertain times. The Minister of National Defence will present the action Lithuania takes to attract people to the Armed Forces and the challenges we face.
The Munich Security Conference is as annual top level key European forum which brings together leaders of the area of defence discuss the most pressing foreign policy and security challenges.
Photo credit: Stefan Obermeier
