On January 14 the Chiefs of Defence of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden will hold the annual Nordic-Baltic Chiefs of Defence meeting in Kuressaare, Estonia.
The Chiefs of Defence of the Nordic and Baltic countries are expected to address regional security and the steps the countries have taken to respond to the changing security situation in the Baltic Sea region. Other points for discussion are planned to be the development of security policy, preparations for the NATO Summit in Warsaw to be held this July, lessons learnt in rendering Host Nation Support for allies, and participation in NATO, EU and UN operations.
Apart from that, the Chiefs of Defence will discuss new cooperation initiatives and represent the Baltic States' plans to deepen the cooperation with the Nordic countries through the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO).
The Nordic-Baltic Chiefs of Defence format takes place once per year in one of the participating countries. The most recent meeting was hosted by Norway (Kongsvinger) in 2015.
Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas is expected to return to Lithuania on January 15.
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Constructive defence cooperation between Nordic and Baltic countries has been developed since the foundation of the Baltic Security Assistance Forum (BALTSEA) in 1997. When the Lithuanian Armed Forces was re-established, the Scandinavian countries would provide support in upgrading equipment and training personnel. Quite a number of Lithuanian soldiers graduated from various qualification improvement courses in the Scandinavian countries. The Iron Wolf Brigade has been training as part of the Danish Division since its affiliation to the Danish unit in 2006. The Nordic countries are also supporting various trilateral Baltic defence cooperation projects.
Norway and Denmark deployed air personnel to the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic States; Lithuanian soldiers have been performing standbys for European Union Battle Groups together with troops from some of the Nordic and Baltic countries since 2010. In the second semester of this year a company of Birutė Uhlan Battalion will be on standby for the UK-led EU Battle Group together with troops from Finland, Ireland, Latvia and Sweden.
Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence Captain Mindaugas Neimontas, office phone no.:00370 5 278 5091, cell: 00370 682 25359, email: mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
Credit: Ieva Budzeikaitė
