Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Jonatan Vseviov met yesterday with Elise Stefaniku and Anthony Brown, members of the United States House of Representatives. During the meeting, they discussed the future of bilateral defence cooperation and Vseviov thanked the United States Congress for its unwavering support of Estonia's independence during the Cold War and following its accession to NATO.
“Through history, the United States has been a big and important ally for Estonia. Bipartisan support for an independent Estonia has been an important signal, especially now, as we are celebrating our country’s centennial’, said Vseviov.
Vseviov emphasised that cooperation with allies, along with an independent defence capability, is important when it comes to ensuring Estonia's security, an important part of which is the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) started by the United States, which supports the more rapid development of our independent defence capability.
Dedicated funding received from the EDI is being used for infrastructure development at Ämari and Tapa, as well as capability development.
The Permanent Secretary confirmed that things are going well between Estonia and the United States in terms of cooperation in the field of cyber defence – two state specialists have participated in joint training exercises and Estonia is also relying on the recommendations of the United States in building up its cyber defence command.
Since 2014, the United States has deployed its armed forces to Estonia to reinforce the security of its NATO allies and prevent possible aggression.
At the beginning of March, 12 F-16 fighter aircraft from the Ohio National Guard will be conducting training in Estonia.
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