November 9, during his formal visit to Estonia, Vice Minister of National Defence Margiris Abukevičius met with Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Kusti Salm and Undersecretary for Legal and Administrative Affairs of the Ministry of Defence Margus Matt, as well as cyber-policy experts and experts from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.
“A strong transatlantic bond, close cooperation with the allies, especially among the three Baltic states and Poland, is more important than ever, particularly in light of the ongoing hybrid attack against the neighbors in the region,” underscored Vice Minister M. Abukevičius to Estonian colleague K. Salm.
M. Abukevičius and K. Salm discussed the most recent developments on the external EU border with Belarus in Poland, as well as potential escalation scenarios, and measures and potential Estonia’s assistance in managing the irregular migrant surge. Lithuanian and Estonian counterparts unanimously condemned the migrant policy waged by Belarus.
M. Abukevičius and K. Salm also addressed information sharing between the countries, joint capability development, cooperation with the United States and other allies, and exchanged information on participation in multinational operations. The officials also discussed the situation in Ukraine.
The meeting with Undersecretary M. Matt addressed cybersecurity, cooperation with the allies on that issue, and the cooperation between Lithuania and Estonia on the Cyber Rapid Response Teams project within the EU Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) framework. Vice Minister M. Abukevičius shared with the Estonian colleagues Lithuania’s experience in cybersecurity and familiarized with the work of the Estonian authorities responsible for cybersecurity. Vice Minister also familiarized with the work and organisations of the Estonian Defence Forces Cyber Command, visited the cyber training range which is used for NATO and national cybersecurity exercises.
The visit to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications addressed cybersecurity risks posed by the Chinese-manufactured 5G smart phones and cybersecurity risks, the meeting officials also agreed that it was necessary to conduct a continuous experience sharing between Lithuanian and Estonian cybersecurity experts.
On November 10 M. Abukevičius attended the Annual Baltic Conference on Defence 2021 and spoke in the “What to expect from and how to cope with Russia and China?” session which addressed the foreseeable effects that China and Russia would have on our security environment in the next decade, their regional and global ambitions, and the like.
Cooperation with Estonia is among Lithuania’s top international cooperation priorities. The areas of most intense Baltic cooperation are the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission, airspace surveillance, Navies, Special Operations Forces, Baltic Defence College, and joint training events. Trilateral and bilateral projects, such as the Baltic Naval Squadron, Baltic Defence College, Baltic Combined Joint Staff Element , etc., have been ongoing for years. Also, Maritime Situational Awareness is intended to be developed, the Baltic countries are also coordinating defence plans, synchronizing capabilities, coordinating joint procurements, and organizing joint exercises, seminars, and training, as well as cooperating at separate military services level.
Photos: Lithuanian MoD Vice Minister M. Abukevičius and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Kusti Salm, Undersecretary for Legal and Administrative Affairs of the Ministry of Defence Margus Matt; in the Estonian Defence Forces cyber training range.
