• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Lithuania will strengthen joint resilience with Israel, Vice Minister of National Defence T. Godliauskas says in Israel

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2025-07-30
International cooperation | Security and defense policy

Vice Minister of National Defence Tomas Godliauskas paid a visit to Israel this week were he had meetings with senior representatives of the country's security and defence institutions. The topics discussed concerned opportunity for bilateral Lithuanian-Israeli cooperation on strengthening de fence, total preparedness for crises, civil defence and cyber security.

"Lithuania places great value on the dialogue with Israel across all security and defence levels: we are united by the same understanding of threats. We find Israel's experience in crisis response, civil defence, cyber security and defence industry strategically relevant to Lithuania. Lithuania and Israel have agreed to strengthen our joint national resilience by developing an enduring partnership, developing joint projects and defence capabilities, conducting joint exercises and evaluating resilience and readiness of separate sectors," said Vice Minister T. Godliauskas.

Vice Minister met with Joseph Shapiro, Deputy Head of the National Emergency Management Authority, Amir Baram, Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Dror Shalom, Head of the Political-Military Bureau, Yair Kulas, Head of SIBAT (Directorate for International Defense Cooperation), and Colonel Elad Adri, Chief of Staff of the Home Front Command, as well as the Lithuanian Community in Israel. He also had meetings with representatives of the Israeli Directorate for the Security of the Defence Establishment and the National Cyber Directorate, as well as cyber security representatives of Israel's private sector. Vice Minister also met with Brigade General Benny Ben-Ari when visiting the 98th Paratrooper Division, 55th Brigade.

They discussed key security aspects : implementation of the civil defence model, public readiness for crises, rapid response and early warning systems, air defence, protection of civilian infrastructure, cooperation on defence industry, and management of cyber threats.

Vice Minister was interested in Israel's experience of integrating civil and military defence, mutual interaction and coordination, and cooperation among the state, local governance institutions and the military during crises. The discussion was particularly centered on crisis preparedness systems, shelter infrastructure, public early warning systems, protection of critical infrastructure and the capacity to ensure operation of the state and local governance agencies in case of a crisis or war.

In the meetings with cyber security experts, Vice Minister T. Godliauskas presented Lithuania's progress of the recent years, including the International Cyber Threat Analysis Hub (ICTAH), an international platform under the National Cyber Security Centre, and the newly established Cyber Defence Command within the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Other topics discussed where the opportunity for sharing experience between Lithuania and Israel, particularly in such areas as cyber threat hunting, development of cyber defence capabilities and attracting experts.

When discussing defence industry, Vice Minister T. Godliauskas underscored Lithuania's intent to develop a strategic partnership with Israeli companies, not just through joint procurement but also through joint investment, scientific research, production in Lithuania and integration of Lithuanian companies in international supply chains.