Hanno Pevkur: Germany’s role in regional security has increased

“Germany’s role in the security of the region has grown significantly, both in supporting Ukraine and contributing to the security of the Baltic Sea region. Both Germany’s military aid packages for Ukraine and the decisions made to strengthen the entire Baltic region speak a clear language that Germany takes supporting Ukraine as well as its obligations to Allies extremely seriously. In addition, the German defence industry is a vital partner for Estonia, because after the signing of the contract on medium-range air defence, Germany has become the largest defence procurement partner for Estonia,” Estonian Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur said.

In recent years, defence cooperation between Germany and Estonia has considerably grown. German fighters participate regularly in the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission to secure the skies, and Germany is the framework nation for enhanced presence in Lithuania. The cost of the medium-range air defence system IRIS-T procured from a German company Diehl Defence is nearly 400 million Euros. Today Germany is one of Ukraine’s largest military support providers. Together, Estonia and Germany have sent Ukraine two military field hospitals.

“In our support for Ukraine, we are all working towards the same goal,” Minister of Defence of Germany Boris Pistorius said. According to Pistorius he is happy to go ahead with the contracts for the ammunition procurements to contribute to EU initiative started by Estonia. Pistorius emphasized that ammunition remains a critical factor of Ukraine´s sustainability.

During his visit, the German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius visited the Ämari Air Base, where he also met with the Spanish NASAMS air defence unit, as well as NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. Tomorrow, the German Minister of Defence will participate at the Annual Baltic Conference on Defence (ABCD) and meet the President of the Republic Alar Karis.