Estonian Foreign Minister thanked Finland for helping Estonian citizens in Egypt

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet of Estonia thanked Finland for cooperation and assistance with repatriating Estonian travellers from Egypt during the crisis that has erupted there. Foreign Minister Paet made a working visit to Finland on 11 February at the invitation of Foreign Minister Stubb. Aside from Egypt, at their working lunch the ministers discussed the EU External Action Service and bilateral relations, among other topics.

Foreign Minister Stubb is concerned as to whether a peaceful and controlled transition towards democracy will take place in Egypt. “Finland and the other EU countries, the UN Secretary General and many others have given their support to the Egyptians’ legitimate demands. Reforms should be initiated quickly and the reform process should proceed determinedly,” the Minister said. According to Stubb, the EU is currently preparing a packet of measures for supporting Egypt’s political and economic reforms when the time is ripe.

Foreign Minister Paet also stated that democracy is the only way forward in Egypt and that talks on the country’s future will, one hopes, be held around negotiation tables and not in the streets.

Minister Paet thanked Finland for the country’s active cooperation in the EU’s Eastern Partnership programmes. Estonia has recently opened an Eastern Partnership Centre, and Paet hopes that Finland will participate in the Centre’s projects in future. Estonian and Finnish forces at present take part in the EU’s Nordic Battlegroup. In Minister Paet’s view, the countries’ military cooperation functions smoothly.

Estonia became a country of the Euro zone about a month ago, and the experiences according to Paet have been positive. The change has gone smoothly and the Euro together with becoming an OECD member last summer has increased foreign investors’ interest in Estonia. Estonian exports, too, have grown rapidly, and the future of the country’s economy looks promising, Paet stated.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet of Estonia and Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb. Photo: Eero Kuosmanen.