Tänukiri

REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR

Mrs Christine Bent, Assistant Deputy Administrator for the Office of Global Material Security Office of Nuclear Smuggling Detection and Deterrence National Nuclear Security Administration U.S. Department of Energy

1’ May 2024, No. 5-4/ 2—i

Dear Ms Christine Bent,

The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Estonia express our sincere appreciation for the

invaluable collaboration and support provided by the Office of Nuclear Smuggling Detection and

Deterrence (NSDD), National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), U.S. Department of Energy.

Due to the geographical location of Estonia, right next to Russian Federation, it is vital for us to raise

the capability to protect our external borders and internal security from the attempts of Russian

Federation to implement its aggressive imperialistic ambitions regarding neighbouring countries. It

also has massive impact to the internal and border security of NATO and the EU as well.

In this context, we are profoundly grateful for the assistance, professional expertise, trainings, joint

exercises, expert evaluations, and specific equipment provided by the US NSDD. Your contributions

significantly enhance our capacity to identify and repel smuggling, transporting and illegal use of

harmful hazards while strengthening our internal security capabilities.

Please extend my gratitude to your staff, who did an exceptional job of making cooperation within TOR

successful. We are extremely thankful to Ms Lindsey Strain for her remarkable dedication and

tremendous efforts.

Moreover, we recognize the extensive experience, resources and world-class expertise in different

security areas that your agency possesses.

I look forward to continuing our partnership and further discussions on how we can work together to

address security challenges effectively.

Sincerely,

Minister of the Interior