Lithuania offered assistance in strengthening the capacities and reforming the defense sector and contributed to modernizing the National Army of the Republic of Moldova. A meeting of the Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Arvydas Anušauskas, who is in Moldova on a visit, and Deputy Prime Minister Nicu Popescu, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, centered on such issues as the development of bilateral cooperation in the defense sector, the future plans for fostering and extending cooperation, regional and energy security, the Transnistrian settlement process and possibilities of borrowing Lithuania’s’ good practices and expertise in areas of mutual interest, IPN reports.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, the officials underlined the importance of realizing the cooperation potential existing between Lithuania and the Republic of Moldova. “I expressed my readiness to encourage cooperation in military education, reformation of the defense and security sectors, counteracting of hybrid threats, and strategic communication. I also referred to the expected launch of the High-Level Political and Security Dialogue with the EU, which will enable us to implement projects to strengthen the Republic of Moldova’s capacities within the EU’s Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace,” Nicu Popescu stated in the plenary session of the delegations.

The Ministry noted that Lithuania in time offered assistance in strengthening the capacities and reforming the defense sector of the Republic of Moldova and contributed to modernizing the National Army by training personnel and by drilling as part of multinational exercises, by offering scholarships for Moldovan officers to study at education institutions in Lithuania and to attend specialty courses at the Military Academy in Vilnius and at the Lithuanian Armed Forces School in Kaunas.