Governor Martin O’Malley and Mr. Nicolai Vojeikin, deputy governor of the municipality of Harju County in the Republic of Estonia, signed a memorandum of understanding designed to encourage and strengthen cultural and social relationships between the state of Maryland and Harju County on May 18.
“This agreement is further affirmation of our long-standing partnership between the state of Maryland and the Republic of Estonia, and in particular, Harju County,” said Governor Martin O’Malley. “This memorandum of understanding provides us a tremendous opportunity to combine our respective rich knowledge and resources to further research in academia as well as our industrial and public sectors.”
The Maryland National Guard has partnered with the Republic of Estonia since 1993 through the State Partnership Program, which was originally designed as outreach by the U.S. to new democracies in Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union.
The Maryland National Guard’s relationship with the Estonian military has encompassed a wide range of military-to-military, military-to-civilian and civilian-to-civilian efforts with an emphasis on civil and military cooperation–all within the context of civilian control of a professional military. The Maryland Military Department also has shared best practices related to state emergency management processes, procedures and techniques through the Maryland Emergency Management Agency.
In 2003, Maryland was also selected to partner with Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the State Partnership Program, in large part due to the state of Maryland’s relationship with the Republic of Estonia.