Nausėda to meet German leaders during official visit

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda will make an official visit to Berlin and Düsseldorf on Tuesday and Wednesday, LRT reported.

In Berlin on Tuesday, Nausėda is scheduled to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Bundestag President Julia Klöckner. The Lithuanian President’s Office said the talks would cover bilateral relations, European security and defence, cooperation in the defence industry and support for Ukraine. Nausėda will also address the Berlin Security Conference.

On Wednesday, he will visit Düsseldorf to meet Hendrik Wüst, minister-president of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The two are then due to open a conference on resilience. Nausėda will also attend a Lithuanian-German business forum focused on manufacturing, engineering, technology, digitalisation and defence.

Lithuania and Germany have expanded their defence cooperation in recent years. Germany pledged in summer 2022 to deploy a brigade-sized military unit in Lithuania. Around 5,000 German soldiers and civilian personnel are expected to move to the country, some with their families. Most of the brigade was planned to be relocated by 2026, while German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said it will reach full operational capability in 2027.