On Friday, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda signed a decree establishing the Coordination Council for National Defence.
Nausėda has invited various representatives of state and municipal institutions, economic entities, non-governmental organisations, and civil society to the council, the President’s Office said.
The council will include Gaja Šavelė, head of the National Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations, Kristina Meidė, head of the Lithuanian Red Cross, Deimantė Bukeikaitė, head of Lithuanian Caritas, Linas Idzelis, commander of the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, Edmundas Jakilaitis, head of the NGO Strong Together, and Deividas Šlekys, an expert on military science.
It will also include Andrius Romanovskis, president of the Lithuanian Business Confederation, Vidmantas Janulevičius, president of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists, Rūta Vainienė, head of the Association of Lithuanian Trading Companies, Mindaugas Sinkevičius, president of the Association of Municipalities, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the National Crisis Management Centre, Žilvinas Gaubys, representative of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chair of the Seimas Committee on National Security and Defence.
“The principle of national defence, enshrined in the National Defence Plan, states that the interaction, preparedness, and participation of military and civilian state institutions, the private sector, and the public is a prerequisite for the realisation of unconditional defence. We want the involvement and expertise of different state and societal actors to engage, educate, and ensure resilience and preparedness for national defence,” Nausėda said.
The Coordination Council for National Defence is an advisory and expert group of representatives of the state and society that will discuss the implementation of the objectives of the National Defence Plan and the preparedness of the measures and actors.
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