On 9 May in Vilnius, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Darius Skusevičius and NATO’s first Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven discussed hybrid threats, Lithuania’s efforts to defend against these threats, the improvement of the crisis management system, as well as the importance of increasing national resistance.
Loringhoven presented NATO’s reforms related to countering hybrid threats. The interlocutors emphasized the importance of cooperation and coordination between NATO and the EU member states and relevant institutions, when countering transnational threats – terrorism, cyber-attacks, information warfare, etc.
Loringhoven provides intelligence support to the North Atlantic Council and the Military Committee, and advises the Secretary General on intelligence and security matters. NATO’s representative visited Lithuania to become more familiar with the realities of security in Lithuania, issues related to the deployment of NATO’s enhanced forward presence battalion in Lithuania, intelligence challenges, Lithuania’s readiness to counter threats, and other security policy issues.