VILNIUS - The ruling majority government pledged to aim for extension of the NATO-sanctioned air police mission in the Baltic countries to at least 2018.
This includes a prospect for the Alliance's eventual decision of making the mission permanent.
Coalition partners have also put equipment of anti-aircraft and anti-tank systems among national defense priorities.
The draft also provisions considerable attention to preparing for "deployment of ally forces or incoming back-up forces in Lithuanian territory". Sea, airport and other infrastructure necessary for receiving NATO-sent back-up in threat of a crisis will also be given priority in this regard.
The National Defense Volunteer Force will perform the Active Reserve functions, as set out in the draft government program.
The draft program also proposes the 2009 Seimas parliament to maintain a similar percentage of the GDP going to national defense as in 2008.
"As the country progresses in overcoming financial hardships we shall propose to the Seimas to consistently increase allocations going to national defense and implement, as soon as this is feasible, the state's commitment to NATO to allocate 2 percent of the GDP to national defense," the draft program says.
National defense expenses made up approximately 1.23 percent of the GDP in 2007, a slight increase from 1.18 percent in 2006.
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