Head of Estonian parlt defense committee gets Afghan Interior Ministry medal

Photo: Peeter Langovits / Postimees

Afghanistan's fire and disaster service chief Maj. Gen. Mahboob Amiri, who is currently visiting Estonia, on Thursday conferred the Afghan Interior Ministry's service medal on the chairman of the Estonian parliamentary national defense committee, Mati Raidma.

Raidma, former head of the Estonian Rescue Board, said he was glad that cooperation between Estonia and Afghanistan was developing rapidly also in the field of rescue, spokespeople for the Riigikogu told BNS. «First of all projects of this kind are a clear sign that Estonia will continue contributing to Afghanistan also after 2014, when the center of gravity will shift from our military contribution largely to projects in development cooperation,» Raidma was quoted by spokespeople for the Estonian parliament as saying.

«We in Estonia too started building up our service in the early 1990s based of the experience and support of other countries. Today it is possible for us to pay off our debt of gratitude and to share our know-how with colleagues in Afghanistan,» he said.

A delegation led by the head of Afghanistan's fire and disaster service is in Estonia within the framework of a project in development cooperation aimed at getting familiar with the structure of the agencies responsible for rescue, their functioning and the activity of the rescue service. In the course of the week the Afghan officials will look at facilities of the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences across Estonia, the Rescue Board, the emergency center, and meet with representatives at the ministries of interior and foreign affairs.