On August 8-9 Chief of the Italian Defence General Staff General Claudio Graziano and a delegation are conducting a visit in Lithuania.
On August 9 the guest is planned to meet with Minister of National Defence Raimundas Karoblis at the Ministry of National Defence and Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Jonas Vytautas Žukas at the Lithuanian Armed Forces Office. Later General Claudio Graziano will meet with Vice Foreign Minister Darius Skusevičius at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The meetings are expected to address security situation in our and the Mediterranean regions, NATO enhanced Forward Presence in the Baltics, NATO-EU cooperation, the two countries' contribution to collective defence and fight against terrorism. Multinational operations that Lithuanian and Italian soldiers are currently deployed to, Operation Resolute Support in Afghanistan and EUNAVFOR MED - Operation Sophia, will also be addressed.
General C. Graziano has already visited Lithuania once (in September 2015).
Defence cooperation of Lithuania and Italy
Lithuanian and Italian militaries have now been cooperating for over 17 years in various forms and scopes.
The greatest achievement in the defence cooperation so far is Lithuania's procurement of three C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft from Italian company Alenia Aeronautica S.p.A. in 2006-2009.The Italian Armed Forces is contributing to the enhancement of qualification and knowledge of the aircraft crews and maintenance personnel until this day, also assists the Lithuanian Armed Forces in training fighter aircraft operators.
In 2015 Italian air personnel with four Eurofighter Typhoons completed two consecutive 4-month long rotations of the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic States conducted from Šiauliai Airbase of the Lithuanian Air Force. Italy is involved in the activities of the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence and the NATO Force Integration Unit inaugurated in Vilnius.
Lithuania has been taking part in the European Union Naval Force in the Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR MED/Sophia) since mid-2015: two Lithuanian officers completed a tour of duty last year as part of the operation aboard Giuseppe Garibaldi aircraft carrier of the Italian Navy and one Lithuanian officer serves at the operational HQ in Rome, Italy. Also, in March-August 2017 two rotations (3 months long) of the Vessel Boarding Team are deployed to Operation Sophia, the second VBT formed by twelve Lithuanian soldiers is currently serving aboard FGS Rhein.
The NATO Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan includes 5 Lithuanian soldiers serving alongside Italian colleagues at the Train, Advise and Assist Command (TAAC) West in Herat, and the total of 20 Lithuanian soldiers currently serving in Afghanistan.
The Italian Special Operations Forces Command took part in Exercise Steadfast Jazz 2013, a command post exercise in Lithuania. The first bilateral Lithuanian-Italian training exercise in Lithuania that included the Alpini of the Italian Army was held in 1999-2001, roughly 600-800 of them train in Lithuania every year.
Photos: courtesy of www.difesa.it
Spokesman for the Chief of Defence of Lithuania Maj Mindaugas Neimontas,
00370 5 278 5091, 00370 682 25359, e-mail: mindaugas.neimontas@mil.lt
