Yesterday 1 September, Priit Turk, Estonia’s first ambassador residing in Singapore, presented his credentials to the President of Singapore Halimah Yacob.
In a conversation following the ceremony, Turk and Yacob noted that the bilateral cooperation between Estonia and Singapore was close – ranging from digital solutions to cooperation in education and research – but there was a lot of untapped potential. The ambassador highlighted that with its excellent cyber and digital expertise, Estonia could expand its cooperation with Singapore on an international level. President Yacob also commended Estonia’s actions in the cyber domain at the UN Security Council.
“Estonia and Singapore are among the most advanced digital societies in the world and we have a lot to learn from each other and to offer to the world. While we are two small states on different continents, we are united by a similar vision and ambition – a belief in an open economy, innovation, e-governance and digital solutions and good contemporary education,” the ambassador said.
Ambassador Turk said there was great potential for boosting economic relations with Singapore as well as the entire region of Southeast Asia. This applies particularly to areas such as cyber defence, defence industry, green solutions and financial intermediation, and digital solutions in the public and private sector. “This is most clearly demonstrated by the growing interest of Estonian entrepreneurs in the Southeast Asian market with its fastest economic growth potential and more than 700 million inhabitants. Many Estonian companies, such as Wise, Guardtime, Funderbeam, ClamBeat and others, have already established themselves here and this certainly encourages other companies to enter the region,” the ambassador said.
He said that after the COVID pandemic, we must move quickly to restore and boost cooperation between companies, agencies and universities. “I am very glad that Singapore’s minister for IT and communications is attending the Tallinn Digital Summit next week and a memorandum of understanding on developing digital cooperation will be signed during the visit. These are visible and important steps towards animating our relations after the pandemic,” the ambassador added.
The Estonian embassy in Singapore was opened in March this year. Another seminal event in advancing bilateral relations was the first ever visit by a president of Estonia to Singapore in July.
Priit Turk has worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2003. He has headed the Division of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid and the Division for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Political Department, and has worked at the Estonian mission to the UN in New York. Between 2012 and 2016, he was the Estonian ambassador to Georgia and Armenia, residing in Tbilisi. In addition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Priit Turk has also worked at the Department of International Relations at the Ministry of Defence.
Photo: Office of the President of Singapore
Additional information:
Communication Department
[email protected]
