Working visit to Luxembourg by Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas

On Tuesday, 9 June 2026, the Minister of Defense, Yuriko Backes, received her counterpart, the Minister of Defense of Lithuania, Robertas Kaunas, in Luxembourg for a working visit.

Following a military welcome and the playing of national anthems at Bourglinster Castle, a bilateral working meeting took place. In preparation for the NATO Defense Ministers' meeting in mid-June and the NATO summit in Ankara in July, discussions focused on the Alliance's political priorities and its deterrence and defense posture on its eastern flank. As a reminder, seven Luxembourgish soldiers are currently part of the multinational Forward Land Forces (FLNF) brigade in Lithuania, under German command. Since 2017, a team of Luxembourgish soldiers responsible for transporting equipment has been integrated into a multinational logistics company. The Luxembourg Army also contributes a satellite-based " Reachback " capability to the battle group in Lithuania, providing communication between the operational area and headquarters.

The defense ministers also discussed the international situation, European security challenges, European political priorities in defense, and unwavering support for Ukraine. Yuriko Backes and Robertas Kaunas reaffirmed their support for European Union instruments to strengthen European defense readiness and for the Europeanization of NATO. "We must continue to invest and strengthen our operational capacity. The European pillar of the Alliance must shoulder a greater share of the burden," emphasized Yuriko Backes.

Finally, the visit also provided an opportunity to exchange views on deepening bilateral cooperation in defense and security. With the signing of a letter of intent, the defense ministers formalized their commitment to developing existing defense relations in the space domain, particularly with regard to secure satellite communications and Earth observation capabilities. The letter of intent provides for the Luxembourg Defense Ministry to make secure satellite communications capabilities available to the Lithuanian Defense Ministry via LuxGovSat, as well as the possibility of cooperation in Earth observation via LUXEOSys, once the system is fully operational.

Discussions on cooperation in the space sector were further developed during a visit to the headquarters of SES and LuxGovSat in Betzdorf.

In the afternoon, at the Chamber of Deputies, Defense Ministers Kaunas and Backes held a meeting with members of the Defense Committee, the Foreign and European Affairs Committee, the Cooperation, Foreign Trade and Greater Region Committee, as well as the Luxembourg delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

Statement from the Directorate of Defence