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The workshop for civil and military experts from the NATO Transportation Group was held in Palanga and Klaipėda on 9-12 June.

“Aiming to give an adequate response to emerging security threats, which are becoming increasingly challenging because of technological progress in the field of logistics infrastructure, close cooperation among the civil and military, private and public sectors is one of the key priorities in the context of NATO’s current security environment,” said Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Andrius Krivas.

During the event, over 120 civil and military experts from the 28 NATO member countries and 5 partner countries exchanged information on logistical challenges, their impact on hybrid wars and measures of collective security.

NATO experts acquainted themselves with Lithuania’s transport capacities and the country’s input into NATO cargo shipment during a special session “Logistics supply chains – new challenges and alternatives“ on 10 June in Palanga.

Lithuania’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan Vytautas Naudužas, Vice-Minister of Transport and Communications of Lithuania Arijandas Šliupas, representatives of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and JSC Lithuanian Railways presented Lithuania’s transit potential. NATO experts also paid a working visit to Klaipėda State Seaport, where they learned more about activities, capacities and development of the main terminals.

Since 2008, Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Ministry of National Defence, Klaipėda State Seaport, JSC Lithuanian Railways and foreign partners have been actively involved in NATO cargo shipment, especially for the U.S. Army and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

It is expected that the successful experience of Lithuania will also have a positive effect on further cooperation with NATO in the field of transport and logistics, and will improve the visibility of the Lithuanian transport sector.

This is already the second meeting of the NATO Transportation Group, which was organised by Lithuania. The first meeting took place in Vilnius in 2012.