At a meeting with Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Kristjan Prikk Vice Minister V. Umbrasas underscored the importance of strengthening the cooperation between Lithuania and Estonia and sharing experience. He pointed out that the threats and challenges we were facing were very similar or exactly the same.
The official also discussed the Baltic cooperation in the wider context of the Euro-Atlantic cooperation and shared Lithuanian and Estonian experience in defence policy and defence planning.
Later Vice Minister V. Umbrasas discussed relevant defence capability planning aspects and launched and ongoing bilateral and multilateral cooperation projects with Chief of Staff of the Estonian Defence Forces Brig Gen Vello-Veiko Palm at the Headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces.
At Tapa Army Base of the Estonian Defence Forces Lithuanian Defence Vice Minister met with Col Vahur Karus, commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade of the Estonian Defence Forces, and toured the infrastructure.
Vice Minister V. Umbrasas also visited the National Security and Defence Coordination Unit of the Government Office of Estonia which is in charge of threat management and crisis prevention planning and familiarised with the process of decision-making in the Estonian Government regarding defence issues and Government-level exercises.
Also, Vice Minister visited the International Centre for Defence and Security in Tallinn where he was briefed on the structure and the most recent research of the Centre.
Cooperation with the Baltic states is one of the top priorities of Lithuania’s international cooperation. Ministers of Defence and Chiefs of Defence of the Baltic states are meeting biannually to address political aspects of regional security, to develop mutual practical cooperation projects, such as the Baltic Defence College, deployment of a joint unit of the Baltic states to NATO forces, Baltic Air Surveillance Network, Baltic Naval Squadron. At such meetings proposals are made concerning further Baltic defence cooperation priorities. Meetings are also taking place regularly at the level of vice ministers, policy directors, chiefs of joint staffs, commanders of navies, land, air and special operations forces , and experts of different areas level.
