ENSEC COE Director Col G. Bagdonas met with Ukrainian Authorities

On 17th –19th of August the Director of the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence Colonel Gintaras Bagdonas have visited Ukraine and participated in several meetings with high-ranking government officials.

During the three-day visit Col. Gintaras Bagdonas had partnership meetings with Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Mrs. Ivanna Klympush- Tsintsadze, National Security and Defense Council Deputy Secretary (NSDC) Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Deputy Defence Minister Igor Dolhov, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Deputy Igor Didenko and other officials from military and academia. He also visited the NATO liaison office.

The main goal of the visit was to improve the cooperation with Ukraine and to discuss implementation of the new projects that would be beneficial to NATO and Ukraine. During the discussions a different forms of cooperation between NATO ENSEC COE and Ukrainian institutions were discussed.

During visit Ukraine has been invited to participate in the conference and industry exhibition IESMA 2016 (Innovative Energy Solutions for Military Applications). The purpose of IESMA 2016 is to present, discuss and accelerate energy efficiency initiatives and to identify opportunities for stimulating the use of innovative energy technologies for military applications in order to reduce the military footprint and increase the security, endurance and resilience of our troops.

This visit was a great opportunity to strengthen relations with Ukraine, to define steps that need to be made in order to keep this partnership mutually beneficial and to search for possible ways of cooperation in the future.