Lithuania to provide €250 million in soft loans for defense industry

The Lithuanian government allocates €250 million in soft loans for the defense industry to attract more investors and develop the sector.

LRT reported on this.

“Foreign companies that do not yet operate in Lithuania but plan to invest in this area will also be able to apply for these loans,” said Economy Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė.

“This will make it easier to attract high value-added projects and world-class companies from various sectors that will create well-paid jobs and thus strengthen the Lithuanian economy,” she said.

And Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė said that additional support would help develop defense companies that had difficulty accessing bank loans or EU funding.

Defense companies will be able to obtain investment or working capital loans from the state-owned financial company Invega.

“Currently, many companies in this sector are just starting to operate in Lithuania, which makes it even more difficult for them to find the necessary funds,” said Inga Beiluniene, Invega Board Member.

According to her, banks do not lend to defense companies because of the risk that the funds could be used to “finance terrorism or end up on the black market.”

In April of this year, the Lithuanian government has already allocated €850 million in soft loans to companies to invest in environmentally friendly technologies, high value-added products, and defense and security industries.

This event is funded by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU fund for economic recovery and resilience.

Lithuania also purchases drones from local manufacturers for its own army and the Ukrainian Defense Forces. The Lithuanian Defense Resources Agency has already signed contracts with five Lithuanian companies worth €8 million.

As part of these agreements, the Lithuanian army will receive more than 2,300 FPV drones worth €3 million, and the Ukrainian Defense Forces will receive almost 5,000 drones of the same type for €5 million.