On September 6 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas departs for Sweden to conduct a formal two-day visit. In Stockholm he will meet Minister of Defence Peter Hultqvist and Chief of Defence General Micael Bydén, expand his knowledge of Sweden's military capabilities and activity.
The formal meetings will address security situation in the region, participation of the countries' armed forces in multinational operations, bilateral military cooperation, as well as cooperation via different international formats - NATO, NB8, NORDEFCO and the JEF.
On September 7 Lt Gen J. V. Žukas is planned to visit the 4th Naval Warfare Flotilla at Haninge Garrison.
Lithuania and Sweden have been developing bilateral defence cooperation for over two decades. Before Lithuania entered NATO in 2004, Sweden was one of the key partners helping it build national armed forces. Sweden donated a great amount of weaponry, military vehicles, medical equipment, provided comprehensive support for developing sea and coastal surveillance system, Air Defence Battalion, Air Base, and training Lithuanian forces. Once Lithuania became a member of NATO, defence cooperation with Sweden entered a new level, i.e., experience sharing, information exchange, joint participation in different multilateral projects.
In the recent years Swedish and Lithuanian troops are training in various joint exercises in the Baltic region, were assigned to a joint standby for the EU Nordic Battle Group in the first semester of 2015. Both countries take part proactively in the Nordic-Baltic Regional Defence Cooperation Initiative working to support defence and security reforms in Georgia and Ukraine.
POC - Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Major Mindaugas Neimontas, 00370 5 278 5091, 00370 682 25359, mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
