Vice-Minister of Finance J. Kizenevič in Paris: 'Investment in defence paves the way for a solid foundation for modern scientific solutions'

In a challenging geopolitical environment, the international financial sector and business are rapidly changing their approach to defence investment, which is no longer seen as controversial. Investing in defence makes it possible not only to strengthen security, but also to create a solid foundation for innovation and modern scientific solutions. This was highlighted by Januš Kizenevič, Vice-Minister of Finance, who participated in the VivaTech international event in Paris.

"The changing security environment in Europe, cyber threats, leads to an increasing need to strengthen defence innovation and digital resilience. Therefore, the mobilisation of public and private funds, the development of defence innovations and the financing of Europe's next-generation of defence technologies are vital for achieving lasting peace on the continent," the Vice-Minister of Finance emphasizes.

The Vice-Minister of Finance, participating in the debate "When Geopolitics Meets Tech: How Defence is Shaping Europe's Innovation Landscape" stresses that this sends a very serious positive signal to the market and encourages a much greater involvement of private capital in the research, development and production of defence projects.

J. Kizenevič stressed that it is important not only to increase investments in innovative defence projects, but also to encourage the search for additional financial resources: "Easier access to funding strengthens the European defence industry, fosters the innovation ecosystem and strengthens the resilience of both the EU as a whole and individual Member States. We need to pay special attention to this."

According to him, higher defence spending is relevant not only for Lithuania or the countries of the eastern region, and a strong European defence industry would ensure both economic and geopolitical resilience.

"Lithuania, as an EU border country on the eastern flank of NATO, is increasingly representing the strategic wing of Europe, which states that resilience, defence readiness and infrastructure security are no longer separated from competitiveness and capital markets policies," J. Kizenevič says.