On Friday 29 January, Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets visited her Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto. This was the first foreign visit of Foreign Minister Liimets.
The agenda of the meeting between the Estonian and Finnish foreign ministers included bilateral relations and close cooperation, with a greater focus on the spread of COVID-19 and travel restrictions. They also discussed international security issues, the situation in Belarus, regional and transatlantic cooperation and the climate.
“Estonia’s relations with its northern neighbour Finland continue to be extremely close and good. I reaffirmed the need to continue our close cooperation on stopping the spread of the coronavirus. The goal is to restore cross-border work-related travel as soon as possible,” Foreign Minister Eva-Maria Liimets said. “The functioning of cross-border movement is crucial, considering the close economic ties between Estonia and Finland and the commitment of both countries to stopping the spread of the virus. I made additional proposals to be discussed in the Estonian-Finnish working group that would make it possible to mitigate the risk of contagion and restore work-related travel between Estonia and Finland.”
The ministers also talked about close regional cooperation, expressing their wish to move on with the third report on bilateral future cooperation as soon as possible to explore additional and substantial opportunities for cooperation. “I consider the cross-border data exchange projects between Estonia and Finland a success story,” the foreign minister. “I am convinced that the report on developing future opportunities for cooperation will help find other lines of action with as much potential.”
Foreign Minister Liimets also met with the President of Finland Sauli Niinistö. Photos of the meeting are available in the gallery of the Office of the President of Finland https://www.flickr.com/photos/tpkanslia/
Additional information:
Aari Lemmik
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
Communication Department
[email protected]
