DIscussed at Tuesday's meeting were the Estonian defense industry's significant leap in development in recent years as well as future opportunities to make cooperation between the state and the industry more effective.

"Nobody doubts the need for the Estonian defense industry today," Ratas said. "The businesses that are members of the EDIA clearly demonstrate that the industry is developing into an economic sector that has high value creation and clear competitive advantages, which creates new jobs in Estonia and increasingly contributes to economic growth."

In the prime minister's opinion, the national defense industry also has an important role in developing Estonia's defense capability. "The product development created here will give Estonian troops an advantage on the battlefield and through this we are able to enhance the defense capability of our country."

In addition to the above, the stated that it was very important to support the innovation and export potential of defense industry businesses. "Our companies' solutions in developing cyber, border defense and unmanned systems have attracted great attention globally," he highlighted. "This clearly shows that the Estonian defense industry has reached a higher stage of development and is acknowledged internatioinally."

At the conclusion of the meeting, it was stated that the EDIA had become a good partner to entrepreneurs both in Estonia and abroad as well as to organizations of the defense industry.

The EDIA is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2009 and whose activities are financed by its members. The aim of the association is to unite Estonian defense industry businesses, create better defense service and product industry conditions and, through this, contribute to the strengthening of Estonia's defense capability and economy.