Estonian Minister of Defence Jüri Luik, Latvian Minister of Defence Artis Pabriks, and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of Finland Jukka Juusti signed a letter of intent for research and technical development in the field of defence.

Pursuant to the agreement, consultations will begin for acquiring armoured vehicles for the Defence Forces of Estonia, Latvia and Finland within the framework of trilateral defence cooperation (Picture source: Estonian MoD)

"The letter of intent that was signed today is a most welcome beginning for the joint undertaking between Estonia, Latvia and Finland in acquiring new armoured vehicles. We agreed to carry out defence-related technical research, and I believe that our cooperation will yield a positive result", said Minister of Defence Luik.

The goal is to find an optimal solution for all three countries for increasing infantry mobility, with the initial plan being to reach procurement in 2024. Estonia, Latvia and Finland are initially planning to focus on the cooperation programme, in order to find the common ground required for the future procurement.

‘We have a very positive long-term relationship with Finland in terms of procurement policy, we have bought self-propelled artillery and radar systems together. Now, we want to extend this cooperation to Latvia, as all three countries share a common interest in armoured vehicles,’ said Luik.