Portugal’s defence chief arriving in Lithuania

On Monday, the guest is scheduled to meet with Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas, the chief of defence and other representatives of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

The program of the Portuguese Chief of General Staff’s visit includes a meeting with leadership of the Lithuanian Land Force and the Mechanized Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf at the Brigade’s HQ (in Rukla), and a meeting with members of a the reconnaissance company of the Portuguese Armed Forces deployed for joint training in Lithuania. Later on, General will travel to Kaunas to view the exposition at the Vytautas the Great War Museum and to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the courtyard of the museum.

At the meeting, General Monteiro will be briefed on the regional security situation, information warfare threats, capabilities and readiness of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and its plans of capacity building. Substantial attention at the meeting will be paid to the implementation of the NATO Readiness Action Plan: NATO exercises in Lithuania, rotational ground units of NATO allies deployed in Lithuania, establishment of the NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU) in Lithuania, and the countries’ contributions to the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJFT).

Lithuanian-Portuguese defense cooperation focuses on military training. In 2007 and 2014 the Portuguese Air Force sent air personnel and assets to the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission, while this April-June Portugal‘s Reconnaissance Company of the 6th Cavalry Regiment, Intervention Brigade, is taking part in the combined training in Lithuania as part of NATO assurance measures in the region.

Lithuanian and Portuguese military leaders last met in Portugal in late March during the Lithuanian Chief of Defence, LTG Jonas Vytautas Žukas’ formal visit in Portugal.