Prime Minister Meets with German President: Cooperation Between Lithuania and Germany Makes Both Our Region and Europe Safer
On Monday, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas met at the Government Office with the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is visiting Lithuania. The meeting focused on bilateral cooperation in the fields of security and defence, economic relations, and regional security. Together with the German President, Prime Minister G. Paluckas also visited Antakalnis Cemetery and the Paneriai Memorial on Monday to honour the memory of Lithuania’s freedom defenders and Holocaust victims.
“Germany’s leadership in the region and in Europe is of utmost importance, and a real, highly valuable expression of this leadership is the recently inaugurated German brigade in Lithuania. We are committed to making this a shared success story. The cooperation between our countries serves as an example for our allies, and we are truly pleased that it is developing in various directions – through defence and security, the economy and business ties, culture and people-to-people exchanges. The upcoming Lithuanian-German cultural exchange season, set to launch next year, is a very welcome opportunity for our societies to get to know each other even better,” said the Prime Minister.
While discussing security and defence, it was noted that Lithuania is allocating 4% of GDP to national defence this year, with plans to increase this to 5.25% of GDP next year. Another key component of security is the defence industry; therefore, Lithuania is developing its capabilities and inviting foreign investors to cooperate, the Prime Minister added. The partnership with the German group Rheinmetall is a successful and mutually beneficial outcome of these efforts.
The meeting also addressed the regional security situation, with Russia continuing its war against Ukraine – aided by Belarus – and its hybrid aggression against countries supporting Ukraine.
The discussion also highlighted the importance of the transatlantic partnership with the United States and the need to deepen cooperation among countries in the region – the Nordic-Baltic Eight, Germany, and Poland.
