Estonia's postal company releases stamp in honor of Finland's accession to NATO

Omniva releases stamp in honor of Finland's accession to NATO. Photo: Omniva

Estonia's state-held postal company Eesti Post operating under the Omniva brand issued on Friday a stamp in honor of Finland's accession to NATO.

On April 4 of this year, Finland became the 31st member state of NATO when Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto handed over Finland's application to join NATO to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels.

«Finland's accession to NATO is a historic event, and the postage stamp is our symbolic support for the Finnish people to commemorate this very important moment,» chairman of the management board of Omniva Mart Magi said. «Correspondents will distribute the stamp worldwide, and philatelists will preserve the commemoration of this extraordinary event in their collections for future generations.»

«Estonia and Finland are connected economically, culturally, and through relations between people. Now that we are both in NATO, the security of our two countries is also interconnected. In other words, the destinies of Estonia and Finland are now intertwined,» Sven Sakkov, Estonia's ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Finland, said.

The postage stamp will be presented by Magi and artist Jaan Saar at the Finnish embassy in Tallinn at 3 p.m. on Friday. The event is by invitation only.

The print run of the stamp designed by Saar is 25,000, and the stamp costs 2.60 euros. The stamp is suitable for sending international letters and cards and it was printed by Vaba Maa printing house. In addition to the stamp, a first-day cover will also be issued, which is available for purchase at the Omniva e-shop. The first day of issue postmark is used at the Toompea post office.

Finland joined NATO on a symbolic day -- April 4 is annually celebrated as NATO Day in NATO member states. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded on April 4, 1949, with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty, also known as the Washington Treaty. The organization is based on collective defense, whereby member states agree to provide mutual defense in the event of an external attack. NATO's headquarters is located in Brussels. In addition to member states, 20 other countries participate in NATO's Partnership for Peace program.

In 2023, Omniva will release dozens of postage stamps to commemorate significant events and personalities in the Estonian country and society. Starting from April 2023, Omniva's postage stamps are printed on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for responsible forestry. The FSC certification confirms that the wood used for paper production comes from responsibly managed forests, and takes into account economic, environmental, and social aspects.