Roundup: Lithuania, Croatia to enhance cooperation in defense, energy

Presidents of Lithuania and Croatia during their meeting here on Thursday welcomed NATO's decision to strengthen its eastern flank and deploy international battalions in the Baltic states and Poland.

Kilinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Croatian president, announced at the meeting that Zagreb is going to join the Germany-led multinational NATO battalion in Lithuania.

"Once the new parliament of Croatia is formed, it will be decided how many troops should come here," she said during a joint press conference with Lithuania's president Dalia Grybauskaite.

According to the leader of Croatia, deployment details will be discussed later, after Croatia's early general election in September.

In words of Grybauskaite, Croatia's political decision to contribute to the formation of NATO battalions in the Baltic States was "a pleasant surprise."

Lithuania and Croatia were linked by strong political and economic ties and both countries held close positions on key EU and NATO issues, Lithuania's head of state was quoted as saying in a statement released by the presidency.

Lithuania was among the first nations to recognize Croatian independence 25 years ago, and it was during Lithuania's presidency of the Council of the European Union that Croatia became an EU member state.

Meanwhile, another special focus during the meeting was placed on the implementation of strategic energy projects.

Croatia sees Lithuania, who had an LNG terminal installed in a short span of only three years, as an example of success in ensuring national energy security and diversified gas supplies, Lithuania's presidency said in a statement.

Following in Lithuania's steps, Croatia plans to build a similar LNG terminal, therefore, Croatian specialists are interested in Lithuania's experience.

"It is important to join our energy infrastructure in order to achieve the level where nobody could blackmail us on gas prices; that said, to achieve the same independence level as Lithuania has already achieved," Grabar-Kitarovic said at the press conference.

During the visit, minister of energy of Lithuania Rokas Masiulis and his Croatian counterpart Tomislav Panenic signed a memorandum of understanding which highlights strategic partnership between the two countries in the field of energy.

Grybauskaite also pointed to importance of developing bilateral business relations in other areas. According to the presidency, Lithuanian-Croatian trade has increased by 61 percent since 2014 and the export of Lithuanian-made products to Croatia has increased by 87 percent over the last 18 months.

Later on Thursday, after their meeting in the Presidential palace, presidents of Lithuania and Croatia attended the opening ceremony of the Croatian Embassy in Vilnius. Endit