Karl Altau, JBANC
In August, a delegation of 15 representatives from Pärnu County in Estonia visited St. Mary’s County in Maryland, about an hour’s drive southeast of Washington, DC. They were there to promote a budding relationship, which had officially gotten its start in December 2019, but was slowed down due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Finally, a reciprocal agreement was signed during the visit on August 8, 2022, thus cementing Estonia’s latest ties with its Sister State Maryland.
During their three-day visit to its new partner county, the Pärnu delegation traveled to Naval Air Station Patuxent River and the naval air museum located nearby, St. Mary’s City, which is the oldest European settlement in Maryland, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and other destinations around the area. Meetings were held with officials representing local municipal government, economic development, emergency management, education, and so on.
Monument to the 1944 Great Flight Opened in Pärnu