Relations between Estonia and Brazil have intensified significantly of late and Estonia expects to open an embassy in Brazil soon, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said in a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Antonio Patriota on Friday.
Estonia expects to open embassy in Brazil soon - minister
26th January 2013, 19:07
Please note that the article is more than five years old and belongs to our archive. We do not update the content of the archives, so it may be necessary to consult newer sources.
«Brazil has opened its embassy in Estonia already and we too wish to open our embassy in Brazil,» Paet was quoted by spokespeople in Tallinn as saying. Estonia at present has honorary consuls in three regions of Brazil.
As Paet said, Brazil is playing a rapidly growing role in international politics and economy alike. «Therefore I regard further development of relations between Estonia and Barzil as essential,» he added.
The Estonian minister said Brazil is of constantly growing interest also for Estonian businesses. «We wish to start negotiations on an agreement on the protection of investments,» he said.
The two ministers also spoke about cooperation between the countries in the UN Human Rights Council. «Both Estonia and Brazil are now members of the UN Human Rights Council and this offers numerous opportunities to advance with joint actions the situation of human rights worldwide,» said Paet.
Paet also met in the Chilean capital Santiago with the foreign minister of Colombia, Maria Holguin Cuellar. «We are interested in closer relations with Colombia in trade, services and investments alike,» Paet said, adding that Estonia wishes to appoint a honorary consul in Colombia to provide consular assistance and promote economic and cultural relations.
Speaking of cooperation in international organizations, Paet said Estonia is in favor of enlargement of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and inviting Colombia to accession negotiations. «We find that all countries which meet the requirements set for members should be invited to membership negotiations,» he said.
Paet met with the foreign ministers of Brazil and Colombia in Santiago, where he attended a foreign ministers session preceding the EU-CELAC (European Union - Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) summit. The summit held over the weekend builds up on six previous EU-LAC Summits held in Rio de Janeiro in 1999, in Madrid in 2002, in Guadalajara in 2004, in Vienna in 2006, in Lima in 2008, and in Madrid in 2010.
Prime Minister Andrus Ansip will represent Estonia at the summit.