Lithuania's Defense Minister Joins NATO Summit Events

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 24. Lithuanian Minister of National Defence Dovilė Šakalienė rubbed shoulders with the bigwigs at the NATO Summit in The Hague, which is set to run from June 23 through 25, as part of the official delegation led by the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Trend reports.

This year's summit underscored the paramount importance of collective defense paradigms, strategic deterrence frameworks, and a heightened commitment among allied nations to escalate defense expenditure to 5 percent of GDP.

Core focal points deliberated at the summit encompassed fortifying the defense sector, propelling transatlantic synergies, and optimizing military support architectures.

Minister Šakalienė participated in the North Atlantic Council's strategic working dinner convened for defense ministers, following an invitation extended by Dutch Minister of Defence Ruben Brekelmans. The exclusive convening functioned as a nexus for enhanced political discourse and tactical synchronization regarding collective security imperatives.

She additionally engaged in the NATO Matters public awareness initiative in conjunction with Minister Brekelmans, a synergistic endeavor aimed at elucidating the critical importance of NATO's function in both regional and global security paradigms. Furthermore, Šakalienė articulated a pivotal keynote address at a summit week gala, orchestrated by the Geopolitics and Security Studies Center in collaboration with its global affiliates.

At the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum-an integral event of the week-Šakalienė engaged in a strategic panel aimed at fortifying NATO–industry synergies and enhancing transatlantic industrial collaboration. The convened plenary session focused on urgent capability requirements and avenues for enhanced synergies between NATO allies and defense industry stakeholders.

In a pivotal advancement in operational defense collaboration, the summit encompassed the formalization of a memorandum regarding the manufacturing of medium-caliber munitions within the jurisdiction of Lithuania. The contractual arrangement was executed among the Ministry of Finance of Lithuania, the Ministry of National Defence, the US defense contractor Northrop Grumman, and the Norwegian munitions producer NAMMO.

Minister Šakalienė also conducted bilateral engagements with NATO counterparts and took part in a reception convening foreign and defense ministers, thereby fortifying Lithuania's strategic alliances within the Alliance framework.

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