The President and the German Defense Minister will discuss bilateral military cooperation and NATO’s further steps to ensure the effective security of Lithuania and the region.
Lithuania and its allies are also working to strengthen air defense in the Baltic region so that NATO's reinforcements could arrive rapidly by air, sea and land, if necessary.
After their bilateral meeting, the President and the German Defense Minister will attend the change of command ceremony for NATO’s enhanced forward presence battle group.
The Germany-led multinational battalion marks the second anniversary in Lithuania. Over the past two years, troops from 10 European nations were deployed to the battalion, which has become an integral part of Lithuanian defense.
The battle group is currently comprised of soldiers from Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Norway, and Belgium, including one military expert from Iceland. It has been reinforced by a German tank combat support unit.
Lithuania and Germany maintain very successful and effective military cooperation. Since 2004, Germany has provided ten rotational deployments to NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission. Germany assists Lithuania in modernizing military forces and equipment. It also leads NATO’s multinational battalion in Lithuania. In order to improve military interoperability, the Lithuanian Mechanized Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf has been affiliated to a German Bundeswehr division. NATO’s multinational battalion is integrated into the Iron Wolf brigade.
