The Estonian government decided to allocate €110,000 to help the state of Maryland fight the novel coronavirus.
Maryland is a long-time security and defence partner of Estonia. The relations began in the early 1990s with military cooperation and links have expanded to include many areas, such as education, cyber space, youth exchange and health care.
The funds allocated by Estonia will be spent for the purchase and transport of personal protective equipment. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, Maryland needs personal protective equipment, specifically the N95 masks.
“Estonia supports its friends through thick and thin. We enjoy a long and close friendship and cooperation with Maryland. The cooperation that began after the restoration of independence initially focused on security and defence, but it has become increasingly close over the years and expanded into other areas,” the Estonian foreign minister, Urmas Reinsalu, said in a statement.
Maryland, one of the smallest states in the US, lies on the East Coast of the United States and is home to just over six million people.
The Estonian government also allocated €100,000 to support the civil society and free press in Belarus and provide psychological support to the victims of the regime’s violence. Another €50 000 was donated to Greece to provide local assistance to the refugees of the Moria camp who are currently without shelter.
Cover: Downtown Baltimore, Maryland. Photo by Dave Hosford, shared under the Creative Commons CC BY 2.0 licence.
