On October 18 Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis discussed bilateral relations in the areas of regional security and defence at a meeting with the new Ambassador of Latvia to Lithuania Indulis Bērziņš.
“I value the strong and enduring defence cooperation between Lithuania and Latvia because we can be strong only together. Coordinated positions and mutual interests help achieve results in bigger formats, such NATO or the EU, or strengthening of the relations with the U.S.,” Minister of National Defence R. Karoblis said at the meeting.
Minister underscored that NATO has made a lot of progress in strengthening the eastern border of the Alliance since the Warsaw Summit but the Baltic states still have to make sure the initiatives are sustainable. It is important to retain the strong transatlantic bond and NATO’s attention to deterrence and collective defence ahead of the NATO Summit in London.
The meeting also addressed joint bilateral and Baltic trilateral projects and defence initiatives with a focus on the new configuration of the Baltic Air Surveillance Network and Control System BALTNET, development of a regional maritime awareness capability, cooperation of the Lithuanian and the Latvian Special Operations Forces, and priorities in defence procurement. The officials also expressed appreciation of the presence of the U.S. forces in Lithuania and discussed participation in the European Union Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) projects.
Security and defence cooperation of Lithuania and Latvia
Latvia is one of the most important partners to Lithuania in security and defence area.
Key goal of the Lithuanian-Latvian cooperation is to strengthen national capabilities, development of the Baltic projects and representation of mutual interests in NATO. Baltic projects, such as the Baltic Defence College, Baltic Air Surveillance Network and Control System and assignment of a joint Baltic military unit for standby in NATO units are also in active operation.
The Baltic countries organise and take part in joint exercises, deploy troops to take part in exercises in other NATO allies’ territories. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia coordinate closely with each other deployment of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Groups in the region, defence planning, and cooperate closely in strategic communication.
Another important priority of Baltic cooperation is simplification of procedures of deployment and movement of NATO forces in the region.
Photo credits: Giedrė Maksimovicz (MoD)
