Robert Juodka @Verslo Žinios About Increasing Defence Budget to 4%

According to him, the Lithuanian security and defense industry is developing successfully, although it was not easy for it to survive due to various past restrictions.

“These obstacles were very diverse, for example, cultural: the attitude that this industry is some kind of “dirty” thing, and in terms of funding restrictions, it is comparable to prostitution or drug trafficking and gambling, i.e. it was forbidden to finance it, it was not possible to ask for fund investments. Also, regulatory and licensing arrangements were very restrictive. The primary regulation of the industry was created and has long been the result of the Arms and Ammunition Control Act, which was created for the purchase, storage, and repair of handguns for self-defense. It is obvious that it was inadequate and caused a lot of interference,” says Robert Juodka, a member of the board of the Lithuanian Defense and Security Industry Association, a Lawyer and Managing Partner of Noewe Legal.

It has great prospects

In the current geopolitical situation, the Lithuanian defense industry has great prospects.

“One of the most significant advantages today is that we have a direct connection with Ukraine, with the end users of weapons, and all products of our defense industry are tested in one way or another on the battlefield. Therefore, our manufacturers, having direct relations with the defenders of Ukraine, receive prompt feedback on weapons in just a few days. This gives us a great competitive advantage and enables us to develop very efficiently.”

Listen and read more about this article in Lithuanian in Verslo Žinios.