Kristen Michal: Drone agreement with Ukraine benefits both Estonia’s defence industry and defence capabilities

According to Prime Minister Kristen Michal, the drone agreement creates new opportunities to combine the lessons learned from Ukraine's wartime experience with the capabilities of Estonia's defence industry and to strengthen air defence capabilities.

"Ukraine has developed one of the world's most competitive defence industries under wartime conditions, although its exports have so far been subject to very strict restrictions. The drone agreement expands opportunities for cooperation with Estonia's defence industry and for applying Ukrainian defence technologies to meet our own needs. This will benefit our defence capabilities, our defence industry and Ukraine," said the Prime Minister.

Under the agreement, Ukraine is prepared to export its products to Estonia. Estonia is ready, where necessary, to procure capabilities from Ukraine or jointly develop and manufacture new capabilities in accordance with the needs of the Estonian Defence Forces.

"For Estonia, it is important to create as much combat capability as possible from every euro spent, and wherever possible, we also prefer local production," said Michal.

"It is clearly in Estonia's interests to acquire knowledge and technologies from Ukraine in order to strengthen our own defence capabilities and defence industry. The agreement means that Estonian-Ukrainian joint ventures will be able to begin production in Estonia, and Ukraine will confirm the necessary export licences for selected products," said Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur.

Estonia is one of Ukraine's most consistent and significant supporters, and the involvement of Estonia's defence industry in this cooperation continues to grow.

"We provide military assistance to Ukraine every year in the amount of more than 0.25% of GDP. This year, the figure is 0.28% of GDP. We encourage all NATO Allies to do the same," Michal stressed.

"We are already putting together a steering group to select and process potential joint production projects within the 'Build with Ukraine' framework," Pevkur confirmed.

The drone agreement does not create any specific financial obligations for the Estonian state.

Photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCYAri

Government Communication Unit