Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakalienė will attend the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting and the NATO Defence Ministerial centered on commitment to step up NATO defence spending on June 4–5 in Brussels at NATO HQ. The meetings will also concern preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague, means of defence and deterrence, and expected agreements on new NATO capability targets.
On the even, the Ukraine Defence Contact Group will convene, as well as the 3+3 format of Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, and the Baltic states, with guest representatives of Finland and Sweden.
The North Atlantic Council meeting held within the Defence Ministerial will comprise all 32 members, while the Nuclear Planning Group will address nuclear policy and planning developments and progress on strengthening NATO’s nuclear deterrence.
Minister D. Šakalienė is planned to have bilateral meetings with French and Luxembourg’s’ colleagues, the meeting with the former is expected to address delivery of the ultra-mobile multirole 155 mm Caesar Mk2 howitzers to the Lithuanian Armed Forces in early 2027.
Two strategically important declarations are expected to be signed on the margins of the meeting. The first one is a Joint Declaration on Security in the Baltic Sea which will lay out the countries’ commitment to strengthen security in the Baltic Sea through a closer NATO-EU cooperation and to conduct a coordinated information exchange and deter hostile activities in the region. The second is a Statement of Intent regarding the CV90 combat vehicles which will be an organic part of the formed 1st Division of Lithuania.
