Diplomatic mission cooperation discussed in Foreign Ministers meeting between Finland and Estonia
Aspirations to increase cooperation in Finland's and Estonia's diplomatic mission network were brought up when the Foreign Ministers of the two countries met in Helsinki. The Ministers agreed on placing a Finnish diplomat in the Estonian Embassy in Tbilisi. The discussions also touched upon the EU's Eastern Partnership, North Africa and the situation in Afghanistan.
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet visited Finland on 30 March on the invitation of Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. In the meeting, the Ministers agreed on placing a Finnish diplomat in the Estonian Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia. The diplomat will support the activities of the Finnish Roving Ambassador for South Caucasus, who is based in Helsinki.
The exchange is arranged through the established exchange of officials between the Finnish and Estonian Foreign Ministries. Previously, an Estonian diplomat served in Embassy of Finland, Lusaka in 2011. According to Foreign Minister Paet, the experience was useful. “In the future, there will certainly be new forms of cooperation in third countries,” said Tuomioja at the press briefing after the meeting.
The Ministers also discussed the EU's Eastern Partnership, North Africa and the situation in Afghanistan. While in Finland, Foreign Minister Paet also met with the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö and Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb.