In his turn, Ambassador praised the bilateral cooperation and agreed about the abundant possibilities to expand it. D. Ungaro stressed that the Italian Air Force personnel deployed in Lithuania set the conditions for developing cooperation in the area concerning air forces. At the moment Italy has the second consecutive rotation of air assets and personnel leading the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states from Šiauliai Air Base.
Minister and Ambassador also touched upon the regional security and agreed that a strong transatlantic bond is the cornerstone of NATO and an indispensable guarantor of security and stability in Europe. In his turn, Minister pointed out that the new Government of Lithuania prioritised strengthening of the Lithuanian defence and increasing defence spending.
When discussing international deployments Minister said that Lithuania had a good grasp of the threats in the South and increased troop contributions to the UN, NATO and EU-led international missions and operations.
Another topic Minister A. Anušauskas and Ambassador D. Ungaro talked about was the major priorities on the European Union defence agenda, i.e., cyber defence and military mobility.
The cooperation between the Lithuanian and the Italian militaries is carried out in different forms and scopes.
One of the largest examples of cooperation between Lithuania and Italy in defence area is the procurement of three C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft from Alenia Aeronautica S.p.A. The Italian Armed Forces is contributing to the qualification updating of crews and service personnel and helps Lithuania train fighter aircraft operation officers to this day.
Italian officers are also serving at the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence and the NATO Force Integration Unit in Vilnius.
