TALLINN - Property and procurement specialists and engineers in the field of national defense from seven countries have gathered in the Estonian capital for a conference of Nordic and Baltic specialists in military infrastructure.
In the course of two days, the experts will exchange experiences in the construction and management of military compounds and training grounds, environmental protection and military procurements, spokespeople for the Estonian Center for Defense Investment said.
"In matters of infrastructure we have many common topics with our neighbors, starting from environmental protection on training grounds and ending with energy effective construction at military units. The Nordic countries have been engaging in the development of military infrastructure significantly longer than we have, there's a lot we can learn from them. Estonia will be sharing its experiences in the construction of barracks and hosting of allies," said the director of the Center for Defense Investment, Col. Rauno Sirk.
He added that just like in the Nordic countries, managing of military bases and training grounds in Estonia is the duty of a separate organization to enable the defense forces to focus on military training.
Kadi-Kai Kollo, coordinator of international cooperation at the Center for Defense Investment, said that the problems that the countries are trying to find solutions to are similar.
"Environmental protection in live-fire shooting areas for heavy weapons and clearing the roads of training grounds of unexploded pieces of ordnance are issues that all countries need to find solutions to. Also the issues related to the development of wind energy are similar," Kollo said.
The collaboration between the managers of the military real estate of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, which got its start in 1973, was joined by Finland in the 1990s and by Estonia and Latvia in 2015. By now also Lithuania has joined the cooperation network.
A large-scale conference and work group meetings are held within the framework of the cooperation format once a year.
The Center for Defense Investment manages most of the infrastructure belonging to the Estonian Ministry of Defense. Its portfolio is made up of over 600 properties and nearly 600 buildings.
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