(L-R) Yuriko Backes, Luxembourg's Minister of Defence; Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces of France;
Credit: MAE
The Directorate of Defence has reported that Luxembourg's Minister of Defence, Yuriko Backes, paid a working visit to Paris, France on Wednesday 29 May 2024.
During this visit, Minister Backes was received, with military honours, by her French counterpart, the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu. The two ministers discussed bilateral cooperation in defence matters, including in particular the Luxembourg Defence project to acquire French-produced combat and combat support vehicles (Jaguar, Griffon and Serval).
As the Defence Directorate explained, this acquisition project is part of the establishment of the binational Belgian-Luxembourg mid-range combat reconnaissance battalion - a "priority" for Luxembourg within the framework of its capability commitments. The Defence Directorate noted that the establishment of this battalion is "fully in line" with the French Scorpion programme and doctrine ("synergy of contact reinforced by versatility and infovalorisation"), which makes it possible to guarantee the interoperability of the armed forces of Luxembourg and Belgium, extending also to those of France. "Cooperation and the exchange of information are essential to enable us to move forward quickly on this priority defence project," stated Minister Backes.
The ministers also had an exchange on the possibilities of cooperation between Luxembourg and French industries in matters of defence, in particular the integration of Luxembourg companies into the production chains of French industry. "I look forward to deepening our cooperation in the field of defence industry in the future and networking our companies with those of France," Luxembourg's Minister of Defence added.
Regarding the European defence industrial base, Minister Backes expressed the desire of Luxembourg Defence to continue to play its role as "a reliable and supportive partner", contributing to the strengthening and development of European production capacity in terms of defence: "This is a question of defence, but also of resilience, which is at the very heart of our strategic autonomy."
The discussions also focused on cooperation at NATO level, ahead of the NATO Summit in Washington from 9 to 11 July 2024. Minister Backes welcomed the "excellent" cooperation between France, Luxembourg and Belgium as part of the NATO Forward Land Forces Multinational Battlegroup in Romania, which is under French command.
The Defence Directorate also reported that the Luxembourg and French ministers reiterated their desire to continue and strengthen their support for Ukraine in the short, medium and long term, depending on the situation. Minister Backes announced a financial contribution from Luxembourg of €5 million to finance the acquisition of materials and equipment for the benefit of Ukraine as part of the "Artillery" coalition, led by France and the United States and in which Luxembourg participates. The two ministers signed a joint declaration relating to this following their meeting.
