The agreement sets the conditions for developing the infrastructure needed for the national defense system in the Birštonas municipality.
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“It is no coincidence that we are in Birštonas, a resort, because the Ministry of National Defense always strives to seek cooperation with municipalities. And I believe that the wellness services, rehabilitation services provided by this resort, your experience, knowledge, and skills are exactly what the national defense system needs,” R. Kaunas said to journalists at the Birštonas observation tower after signing the agreement.
“I think that here, after signing this agreement, we will definitely find the most appropriate ways of cooperation and will have a very beautiful success story,” he said.
In turn, Birštonas Mayor Nijolė Dirginčienė noted that the agreement with the ministry opens new opportunities for the resort municipality.
“What we have, our experience, I think, is invaluable. It is experience in health improvement, wellness, rehabilitation, where we have certainly not yet fully utilized all possibilities specifically in cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense,” the mayor said.
“The agreement will certainly be useful for officers, soldiers, and our allies, and perhaps in the future, we will consider something regarding the development of that infrastructure. We will look for the best possible opportunities,” N. Dirginčienė said.
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R. Kaunas emphasized that plans for providing rehabilitation are expected to be finalized by the end of this year.
“We value Druskininkai, we value Birštonas, we value other places as well. And in this process, the most optimal solutions will be refined and adopted. I very much hope that maybe even by the end of this year, we will be able to specify exactly what we plan and in which specific place,” the minister said.
According to him, so far the plans have only been discussed preliminarily, but “at a green technical level, so we do not want to raise unfounded expectations.”
“But the vision is that the capacities currently in Birštonas could expand. Because we see the needs of the army, we see the needs of our arriving allies,” R. Kaunas explained.
The Ministry of National Defense earlier announced that one direction of cooperation with Birštonas could be the expansion of rehabilitation services provided to soldiers and related infrastructure.
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