During the conversation following the presentation ceremony, Ambassador Kivi and President Seguro reaffirmed the good relations between Estonia and Portugal and discussed opportunities to deepen bilateral cooperation. They discussed European security, continued support for and reconstruction of Ukraine, and closer cooperation in various UN bodies, as Estonia is a member of the UN Human Rights Council for 2026–2028 and Portugal will begin a two-year term as an elected member of the UN Security Council in January 2027. Close relations between the two countries are supported by the Estonian Embassy in Lisbon, the only Baltic embassy in Portugal.
Katrin Kivi recalled 20 August, which marked 35 years since Estonia restored its independence, and stressed the importance of maintaining and strengthening solidarity and unity among Allies in defending Europe’s shared values. The Ambassador thanked Portugal for its longstanding contribution to Baltic Air Policing and invited the country to participate in the Ukraine Recovery Conference, to be hosted by Estonia in Tallinn in January 2027.
“Estonia and Portugal are united by shared values and close cooperation in both the European Union and NATO. We greatly appreciate Portugal’s contribution to the security of our region. We also see excellent opportunities for closer cooperation on Ukraine’s reconstruction and in the digital and economic fields,” Ambassador Kivi said.
Ambassador Katrin Kivi has worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1993. In the early years of her career, she worked as a diplomat in the External Economic Policy Department and the Western Europe and North America Division. From 2003 to 2005, she headed the Asia, Oceania, Africa and Latin America Divison. In the summer of 2005, Katrin Kivi became Political Adviser and Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy in Paris, as well as Deputy Permanent Representative of Estonia to UNESCO. From 2009 to 2011, she served as Director of the General Affairs Division in the European Union Department, and from 2011 to 2015 as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark. From 2015 to 2019, Kivi served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Estonia to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. From 2019 to 2023, she was Estonia’s Ambassador to India, from where she also covered Singapore between 2019 and 2021, until Estonia opened its first resident embassy there. While based in India, Kivi was also accredited to Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Ambassador Katrin Kivi graduated from the Faculty of Romance and Germanic Philology at the University of Tartu. She holds a master’s degree in German language and literature. Kivi speaks German, French, English and Russian.
