On November 13 Chief of the Defence Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces attended the Baltic Defence Committee meeting in Tallinn, Estonia. At the meeting, Chiefs of the Joint and the Defence Staffs of Lithuania , Latvia and Estonia discussed trilateral defence cooperation projects.
The three Baltic states were represented by Chief of the Defence Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Brig Gen Gintautas Zenkevičius, Deputy Chief of Defence and Chief of the Joint Staff of Latvia Brig Gen Imantas Ziedinš, and Chief of the Defence Staff of Estonia Brig Gen Veiko-Vello Palm.
Chiefs of Staff as the Baltic Military Committee discussed the course of developing the Baltic Air Surveillance Network and Control System (BALTNET), cooperation projects of the three Baltic states' Navies, cooperation of the armies, joint exercises, and presented their countries' participation in international operations.
Major ongoing trilateral cooperation projects of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are the Baltic Defence College (BALTDEFCOL) (Ministries of Defence's and Armed Forces' project), Baltic Battalion (BALTBAT) (Land Forces' project), Baltic Air Surveillance Network and Control System (BALTNET) (Air Forces' project), and the Baltic Naval Squadron (BALTRON) (Navies' project).
The Baltic Military Committee meets twice a year: in Chiefs of Defence format - in spring, and in Chiefs of Defence Staff format - in autumn. The Committee was chaired by Lithuania in 2018, it is chaired by Latvia in 2019, and in 2020 the duties will be handed over to Estonia.
Photo credits: Ardi Hallismaa, Estonian Defence Forces
