The document, which has not been made public yet, was signed by Minister of the Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė, National Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas and Maximilian Froch, Head of Program Organization International, Rheinmetall AG, on Tuesday.
“The letter of intent is confidential as some elements concern commercial and national security secrets,” said Armonaitė, adding that the document paves the way to negotiations with Rheinmetall on an investment agreement.
The factory will be one of the largest defence investments ever made in Lithuania, the minister said.
“Yes, it will be one of the biggest investments in the history of Lithuania. It will give a boost to our industry, our economy and regional security,” she said.
In mid-March, Rheinmetall announced its plans to build a plant in Lithuania, where Germany plans to permanently deploy a brigade-size military unit to protect NATO’s eastern flank.