On January 17–19 Chief of Defence Lt Gen Valdemaras Rupšys is conducting a visit to Belgium to meet with U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander (SACEUR) Gen Christopher G. Cavoli, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Chief of Staff Admiral Joachim Rühle, and attend a NATO Military Committee conference.
On January 17 Lt Gen V. Rupšys and Gen C. Cavoli will bilaterally discuss defence plans for Lithuania, military capability planning and enhancement, arrival of NATO support forces in case of a crisis in case one occurred. Other points of discussion will be the security situation in the region and assistance to Ukraine. Next, SACEUR gen. C. Cavoli will meet with Chiefs of Defence of the three Baltic states and Poland to address a wider issue of relevance to all participants: regional defence plans.
On January 18–19 Chief of Defence will attend a NATO Military Committee conference in Brussels where the 30 Allied Chiefs of Defence and representatives of Sweden and Finland will discuss strategic issues of the Alliance and international security. The six sessions of the meeting presided over by NATO MC Chairman Admiral Rob Bauer will address NATO concepts command structure and air defence, operational and tactical defence planning, and multinational operations.
General Philippe Lavigne, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) will preside over the session on the course of the war in Ukraine, NATO readiness for present and future challenges based on multi-dimentional operations, digital transportation and interoperability. Session 3 moderated by Gen C. Cavoli will address the latest updates on the Alliance’s deterrence and defence concept for the Euro-Atlantic area which closely links national defence plans with NATO defence plans and takes into account threats and challenges specific to concrete regions and functional areas. The last sessions will focus on NATO’s continued assistance to Ukraine.
Lt Gen V. Rupšys is also planned to meet bilaterally with Chief of Defence of Sweden Gen Micael Bydén, Chief of Defence of France Gen Pierre Schill and Director General, Directorate for Defence Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, a Chief of Defence equivalent, Jónas G. Allansson.
The Military Committee (MC) (French: Comité militaire) convenes twice a year in Brussels at the NATO HQ and once – in an Allied state. The daily MC work is done at the NATO HQ in Brussels by Permanent Military Representatives from across the Alliance.
