On March 18-20 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lt Gen Jonas Vytautas Žukas is going to conduct a formal visit to Croatia.
On March 19 he will be formally welcomed in Zagreb in front of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, then Lithuania's Chief of Defence will meet with Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia Damir Krstičević and Chief of Defence of Croatia Gen Mirko Šundov.
During a working session representatives of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces will brief Lt Gen J. V. Žukas on their country's military capabilities, plans for their development and activities. Topics expected to be discussed are regional security challenges, NATO deterrence and defence, European security initiatives, participation in international military exercises, and opportunities for Lithuanian soldiers to improve qualification in Croatia.
Lithuanian and Croatian delegations are also planned to exchange experience of acquiring and using PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers. The Croatian side will share lessons learned from deployment to the NATO enhance Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania, the Lithuanian side - experience in providing motivation for medics to enlist in the active reserve.
Later Chief of Defence will visit the Croatian Air Force HQ.
Lithuanian and Croatia have been developing defence cooperation for almost 25 years. The main part of the cooperation takes place in NATO format but there are also bilateral events.
The two countries' militaries are also connected by multinational deployments experience: in 1994-1996 approx. 90 Lithuanian soldiers obtained experience in the United Nations-led operation UNPROFOR in Croatia. In 2006-2010 Croatian military contributed 30 soldiers to each rotation of the NATO ISAF Lithuanian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Ghor Province of Afghanistan. Also, roughly 190 Croatian soldiers (a company) took part in the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Group in Lithuania from December 2017 to June 2018.
The Croatian Armed Forces is helping to train Lithuanian helicopter personnel to operate in mountainous terrains, both countries' military dog handlers are sharing experience. Ministries of Defence of Lithuania and Croatia have been in cooperation for several years already concerning acquisition and usage of PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers.
Also, the Lithuanian Armed Forces bought tactical helmets and new standard fabric for battle dress uniform of universal camouflage.
Photo credit: Sgt Spc Ieva Budzeikaitė
Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Maj Mindaugas Neimontas
+370 5 278 5091, +370 682 25359, mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
