Foreign arms manufacturers are considering to set up a production facility in Lithuania, says Laurynas Kasciunas, conservative chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence.
On September 21, the committee talked about the Lithuanian military’s stockpile and national production capacity.
The war in Ukraine has shown the need to stock up as much as arms as possible, Kasciunas said, adding that it would be particularly useful to attract foreign investors to Lithuania.
“The first thing is to look for investors here in Lithuania to set up arms production facilities. And there are even major global companies that are weighing options. We are working with them and looking for ways to align interests. Imagine if an ammunition or artillery production facility is built in Lithuania. That’s serious business,” Kasciunas told reporters after the committee’s meeting.
He refrained from naming manufacturers or their home countries but added that the process was in its initial stage.
“But I believe that our institutions will do their best to assess the opportunities sincerely and engage in serious hunting,” he said.
Speaking about Lithuania’s current stockpile, Kasciunas said the country’s situation was “much better than a year or two ago”.
“The problem is that the arms turnover in the Western industry is not that high, as everyone is standing in line and not all purchases come quickly. But we have improved the situation in some important positions,” Kasciunas underlined.
Deputy Defence Minister Zilvinas Tomkus says at least 10% of the military budget should be spent on building up the armed forces’ stockpile.
Lithuania allocated 2.5% of its GDP to be spent on defence this year. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
