Undersecretary for Defence Investments Martin Hurt and general director of the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration Gunnar Holmgren signed a joint procurement framework agreement on Tuesday in Stockholm.

The framework agreement sets forth co-operation format and procedures of the defence procurements of Estonia and Sweden as well as formation of joint working groups. The working groups will elaborate procurement plans of both countries in order to find contact points, on which basis joint procurements of weaponry, equipment and ammunition could be conducted in the future. Separate agreements of joint projects shall be concluded in case of each specific joint procurement.

According to Undersecretary for Defence Investments Martin Hurt, the National Defence Development Plan 2009-2018 foresees initiation of several new, large and expencive procurements for the Estonian Defence Forces. „Therefore the Ministry of Defence is exploring also our partner countries, in order to find possibilities for future joint procurements,“ Hurt said.

„A good example of such co-operation is the procurement of mid-range air surveillance radars started in June of 2009 as a joint project of Finland and Estonia, which saved hundreds of millions of kroons for Estonian taxpayers,“ undersecretary Hurt added.

With the joint procurement framework agreement, both Estonia and Sweden will acquire new knowledge and experiences in the field of procurements, which will save money for both countries in the future. Joint procurements of equipment and weaponry will lower the unit prices, as well as repair and maintenance costs. Also the co-operation capability of Estonian and Swedish defence forces would improve through joint procurements, as the equipment of the same type would be used more extensively.

Sweden and Estonia have tight defence connections already since the first half of 1990s. The main fields of co-operation have been training, development of the Baltic Defence College, information exchange in the field of maritime surveillance, defence-related outreach in West Balkan, Ukraine and Georgia, while Sweden has also donated equipment to the Estonian Defence Forces. Estonia is also planning to participate in the first half of 2011 in the Swedish-led Nordic Battlegroup of the EU with up to 55 servicemembers.

Further information:
Peeter Kuimet
Press Officer, Ministry of Defence
Tel. +372 717 0116 / +372 56 56 41 88
peeter.kuimet@kmin.ee