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President Dalia Grybauskaitė is attending the NATO Summit in Chicago to discuss the issues on agenda: the strengthening of collective defence, the missile defence system, the mission in Afghanistan, and new threats.

The biggest summit in NATO’s history is also aimed at final consolidation of security guarantees for the Baltic States. According to the President, the implementation of contingency plans and the extension of the NATO Air Policing Mission indefinitely in the Baltics is the result of Lithuania’s recent aspirations for a real, not formal, NATO membership.
 
The President said that after consolidating clear security guarantees for the Lithuanian people it is necessary to ensure NATO’s attention to new threats which raise serious concerns, in particular to the intensification of militarization at Lithuania’s border, in Kaliningrad.
 
According to the President, through Lithuania’s efforts, emerging new threats as well as energy and cyber security issues have been included into the Summit agenda. The possibility of accrediting the Vilnius-based Energy Security Center as a NATO center of excellence will also be addressed in Chicago.

NATO leaders will devote special attention to Smart Defence projects and effective defence spending. The Air Policing Mission in the Baltic States is one of the most successful examples of NATO solidarity and Smart Defence. Smart Defence initiatives will help NATO member states make their defence spending more effective and their capabilities more efficient. At the Summit, the Baltic States will announce that they are increasing their contribution to the Air Policing Mission.

The biggest summit in Alliance’s history is attended by 57 heads of state and government, the UN Secretary General, and the leaders of the World Bank and the European Union.