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At his meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Salman Krushid in New Delhi, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet expressed satisfaction that Estonia-India relations have become much closer in the past year. “The opening of an Estonian embassy in New Delhi will surely bring Estonia-India relations to a new level. We hope that India will soon open an embassy in Tallinn as well,” he added.
Paet expressed hope that in the future Estonian citizens would be able to get an Indian visa from the border when entering the country.
Paet and Krushid also supported the upcoming conclusion of the European Union-India trade agreement. “India is an important strategic partner of the European Union and these relations must be strengthened,” said Paet.
The ministers also discussed internet freedom and cyber security. Paet stated that cyber security is closely tied to internet freedom, which is an important subject for Estonia. “We welcome Indian experts to attend the annual international cyber conflict conference hosted by the NATO Cyber Defence Centre in Tallinn,” he added.
Paet and Krushid discussed co-operation between Estonia and India in international organisations as well as reciprocally supporting each other’s candidacies. Estonia and India are both members of the UN Human Rights Council. Estonia supports India getting a permanent member position on the UN Security Council in the course of the Security Council reform.
The Estonian and Indian foreign ministers also saw potential in Estonia-India economic co-operation and in ties between universities.
Paet invited his Indian colleague to visit Estonia.
In his meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Preneet Kaur, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet discussed Estonia-India economic relations, bilateral co-operation in consular matters, and concluding more treaties between the countries.
Paet stated that Estonia would like to appoint more honorary consuls in India. “In the future we would like to appoint honorary consuls in Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, and Goa. In connection with the opening of our embassy in New Delhi, we would also like to change Honorary Consul Anil Vig’s consular region and appoint him the honorary consul in Chennai,” Paet added.
The ministers also spoke about increasing the base of treaties between Estonia and India. “We hope to conclude a memorandum of co-operation in the area of biotechnology and a broad-based framework agreement connected to higher education with India soon,” said Paet.