Finnish and Estonian ministers to develop relations in Helsinki

Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will attend a seminar on cooperation between Finland and Estonia at the House of the Estates in Helsinki on Tuesday 15 November. Other Finnish and Estonian ministers will also attend the event.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will attend a seminar on cooperation between Finland and Estonia at the House of the Estates in Helsinki on Tuesday 15 November. Other Finnish and Estonian ministers will also attend the event.
 
Relations between Finland and Estonia are closer and wider in scope than ever before. The security situation in Europe and Finland’s future NATO membership are set to bring the countries even closer together. 

The seminar will delve deeper into the themes highlighted in “REPORT 1+1=3 – Visionary report on Estonia-Finland future cooperation”, which explored ways to develop practical cooperation between Finland and Estonia. Published in March of this year, the report offers recommendations on the future development of cooperation between the two countries in areas such as the economy, the green transition, digital cooperation, culture and education.
 
The report finds that Finland and Estonia are much more than neighbours – Finns and Estonians are historically related by language and culture, and the countries collaborate very closely in many fields. The ever-changing world offers Estonia and Finland new opportunities for increasingly wide-ranging cooperation that can also benefit third parties. 
 
The study on opportunities to develop relations between Finland and Estonia was commissioned by the countries’ governments. It was led by former ministers Anne-Mari Virolainen from Finland and Jaak Aaviksoo from Estonia with support from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) and the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute (EFPI). 
 
In connection with the Helsinki seminar, the Prime Ministers of Finland and Estonia will also have a bilateral meeting on topics including Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and support to Ukraine, the current security situation, Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO, energy issues, the economy, and EU affairs more broadly. 
 
Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto and Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu will also have a bilateral meeting, where they will discuss bilateral relations and the security situation in Europe, among other topics.
 
Also in connection with the seminar, Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka and Estonian Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology Kristjan Järvan will sign their ministries’ joint statement on digitalisation in logistics entitled “Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Transport and Communications (Finland) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (Estonia) on facilitating cooperation, exchanging information and discussing digitalisation and data related initiatives in the logistics sector.”
  
Inquiries: Lauri Voionmaa, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister (International Affairs), tel. +358 50 421 0422, and Rami Kurth, Communications Specialist (EU Affairs), tel. +358 50 465 7963, Prime Minister’s Office