Jonatan Vseviov, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, and Marko Mihkelson, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, met today with reserve officers from the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom, who are participating in the security seminar being hosted by the Estonian Reserve Officers’ Association (EROA).
Vseviov provided the officers with an introduction to Estonia's cooperation with its allies and the implementation of decisions taken at the Wales and Warsaw summits; he also recognised Estonia's reserve officers for raising security questions within the international community of reservists.
“Reserve officers play a crucial role when it comes to strengthening the will for defence and linking national defence to society,” said the Permanent Secretary.
“When discussing important security questions with the reserve officers of countries that are close to Estonia, we are not only addressing individuals associated with national defence, but also entrepreneurs, officials and doctors, who contribute voluntarily to national defence and bring national defence related issues home to their communities,” added Vseviov.
From today until Sunday, the EROA is hosting a seminar for reserve officers from Baltic Sea countries, dedicated to influential activities in contemporary conflicts and ensuring regional security.
Participating in the seminar are reserve officers from the Nordic countries, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland and the Baltic states.
In addition, a cooperation agreement is set to be concluded between Estonia and the Nordic Reserve Officers' Coordinating Presidium, with which the trusted relationships between the organisations will be confirmed and further areas of cooperation will be prescribed.
Reserve officers from the Nordic countries have already concluded similar cooperation agreements with reserve officers from the United Kingdom and South Africa.
The EROA has a membership of nearly 400 and its actively operating sections unite military lawyers, doctors, and Naval and Land Forces logistics reservists.
EROA is a member of the Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers, an international movement of reserve officers.