On March 18-20 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lt Gen Jonas Vytautas Žukas conducted a formal visit to Croatia.
On March 19 he was formally welcomed in Zagreb in front of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, then Lithuania's Chief of Defence met with Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia Damir Krstičević and Chief of Defence of Croatia Gen Mirko Šundov.
At a working session representatives of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces briefed Lt Gen J. V. Žukas on their country's military capabilities, plans for their development and activities. Other topics discussed were regional security challenges, NATO deterrence and defence, European security initiatives, participation in international military exercises, and opportunities for Lithuanian soldiers to improve qualification in Croatia.
Lithuanian and Croatian delegations also exchanged experience of acquiring and using PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers. The Croatian side shared lessons learned from deployment to the NATO enhance Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania, the Lithuanian side - experience in motivating medics to enlist in the active reserve.
Later Chief of Defence visited the Croatian Air Force HQ.
Lithuanian and Croatia have been developing defence cooperation for almost 25 years. The main part of the cooperation takes place in NATO format but there are also bilateral events.
The two countries' militaries are also connected by multinational deployments experience: in 1994-1996 approx. 90 Lithuanian soldiers obtained experience in the United Nations-led operation UNPROFOR in Croatia. In 2006-2010 Croatian military contributed 30 soldiers to each rotation of the NATO ISAF Lithuanian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Ghor Province of Afghanistan. Also, roughly 190 Croatian soldiers (a company) took part in the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania from December 2017 to June 2018.
The Croatian Armed Forces is helping to train Lithuanian helicopter personnel to operate in mountainous terrains, both countries' military dog handlers are sharing experience. Ministries of Defence of Lithuania and Croatia have been in cooperation for several years already concerning acquisition and usage of PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers.
Also, the Lithuanian Armed Forces bought tactical helmets and new standard fabric for battle dress uniform of universal camouflage.
Photo credit: Sgt Maj Josko Ljubicic (Ministry of Defence of Croatia)
Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Maj Mindaugas Neimontas
+370 5 278 5091, +370 682 25359, mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
