Taiwan, Estonia sign MOUs on aerospace, defense collaboration

Vilnius, May 8 (CNA) A Taiwanese business delegation has signed two memoranda of understanding (MOU) with Estonia to facilitate collaboration between the aerospace and defense industries on the two sides, according to the Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia.

In a statement issued Wednesday, the office said that the Taiwan delegation signed the MOUs on Monday with the Estonian Defence and Aerospace Industry Association and the Estonia Aviation Cluster in Tallinn, Estonia's capital.

The MOUs open a new chapter for collaboration between the two countries on drones, aerospace and related industries, the statement said.

The leader of the Taiwanese delegation Hu Kai-hung (胡開宏), who heads the Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance (TEDIBOA), said at the signing ceremony that the idea for the bilateral collaboration arose from a discussion he had last November with a representative from the Estonian defense industry, the Taipei representative office said.

At the time, Hu said, he was leading a delegation on a visit to Latvia to explore business opportunities between Taiwan, Latvia and Estonia, according to the statement.

In February 2025, Estonian lawmaker Kristo Enn Vaga, chairman of the Estonia-Taiwan Support Group in the Estonian Parliament, led a delegation to Taiwan in a follow-up to the meeting, with the aim of deepening the partnership between Taiwan and Estonia, he was cited as saying in the statement.

Meanwhile, Andrew H.C. Lee (李憲章), Taiwan's representative to Estonia, said that the signing of the MOUs was an important step for collaboration between the two countries, according to the statement.

Taiwan and Estonia are like-minded countries with well-regulated economies that have access to major markets in the Indo-Pacific and the European Union, Lee said.

There is great potential for collaboration between the two sides, given their highly complementary economic and industrial structures, he said.

Amid Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine and China's growing military threats against Taiwan, the MOUs also have the potential to help build new industrial chains that promote regional stability and global safety, Lee added.

Kalev Koidumäe, CEO of the Estonian Defence and Aerospace Industry Association, said at the signing ceremony that he was part of the Estonian delegation that visited Taiwan in February, and that he was anticipating an acceleration of concrete collaboration plans between the two sides.

Andy Viikmaa, a director at the Estonia Aviation Cluster, said that Taiwan and Estonia share a similar history and the same ideals.

Expanding collaboration between the two sides is key to building a "non-red supply chain" based on democracy, he said, adding that they are both vibrant and innovative economies.