On January 28-29 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Arvydas Pocius is taking part in a Nordic-Baltic Chiefs of Defence (CHODs) meeting in Mālpils, Latvia.
At the meeting the CHODs will discuss opportunities for Nordic-Baltic contribution to the rotations of the NATO Response Force (NRF) and the European Union Battle groups, participation in NATO multinational exercises, and multinational operations, including the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM Mali).
The Chiefs of Defence of the Nordic and the Baltic countries are held on an annual basis in one of those countries. Last January the Nordic and the Baltic Chiefs of Defence met in Klaipėda, Lithuania.
Lithuania launched defence cooperation with the Nordic countries in 1994 by signing a military cooperation agreement with Denmark, a member of NATO by then. A considerable number of Lithuanian troops have undergone long-lasting studies in the Scandinavian countries, the Nordic countries are providing support for trilateral cooperation projects of the Baltic States, Norwegian and Danish air forces have deployed to NATO's Air Policing mission in the Baltics. Once the independence of Lithuania had been established, the Scandinavian nations rendered assistance in modernising the weaponry of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and training its divisions and personnel.
POC: Spokesperson to the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Captain Skomantas Povilionis, cell phone no. 00370 682 25359
Photo by SFC Eugenijus Žygaitis (Meeting in Klaipėda, 2013)
