Lithuania's Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas welcomed the plans of German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall for a production facility in his country.
The plans would mean "the creation of jobs as well as investments in our economy, most of which will be accompanied by the involvement of other companies," he said in a Facebook post on Thursday evening.
"I am pleased about the joint participation of the Lithuanian authorities in this important defence project," he added.
Rheinmetall previously confirmed plans to build an artillery production plant in Lithuania in 2023 at its annual press conference.
However, a final decision has yet to be made. Lithuanian media reports say group representatives held talks with political leaders in late 2023 and early this year.
A Bundeswehr armoured brigade is also due to be permanently stationed in Lithuania in the future.
Rheinmetall has been operating a maintenance centre together with the defence company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann since summer 2022. The combat vehicles of NATO combat units stationed in the Baltic states and the Leopard 2 battle tanks handed over by Germany to Ukraine are maintained there.
