Today, in London, Minister of Defence Jüri Luik, along with the defence ministers of eight other countries, signed the cooperation agreement for the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).
The nine countries within the military framework for cooperation are ready to quickly and flexibly contribute to military operations in crisis areas.
Over the years, the UK has developed into one of Estonia’s closest and most important allies, which made joining the JEF a natural continuation of our good and long-term cooperation,’ said Minister of Defence Jüri Luik.
The capabilities of the JEF conform to the entire spectrum of warfare and crisis regulation; at the same time, its size depends on specific moments in time and needs.
In addition to operations, the goal of the cooperation framework is the carrying out of joint training exercises.
‘It is our hope that the JEF's training exercises would be associated with our region’s security challenges,’ said Jüri Luik, while adding that plans have already been drawn up for training exercises on the Baltic Sea in 2019, which will also be taking place in the waters of the Baltic Republics.
The Joint Expeditionary Force was launched in 2015 by the UK, with Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland having since joined.
As of today, the planning phase for the Joint Expeditionary Force has been completed and the signing of the cooperation agreement marks the full operational readiness of the unit.
In 2018 Estonia is prepared to contribute a team for removing explosives and improvised explosive devices, a strategic communication’s team, a team of medics, and a forward air controller to the readiness of the Joint Expeditionary Force.
Photos: Minister of Defence Jüri Luik, along with the defence ministers of eight other countries, signed the cooperation agreement for the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).
Further information: [email protected]