Juan David Latorre
Yesterday, Thursday, the Estonian Embassy celebrated its National Day on the 105th anniversary of the birth of the Estonian state, at a reception attended by almost all European ambassadors and representatives, which was marked by the Estonian government’s support for Ukraine in the war currently raging in the country.
The Soviet Republic of Russia set itself the goal of uniting Estonia with Russia,” said Ambassador Andres Rundu. The Soviet invasion triggered the Estonian War of Independence, which ended with the signing of the Peace of Tartu on 2 February 1920″. And this independence was achieved, according to the ambassador, “thanks to the efforts, sacrifices and support of both the Estonian people and our friends”.
The Estonian ambassador recalled that in the past it had been impossible for the delegation to hold this reception. A few days earlier, “Russia chose the path of violence and aggression, destroyed the UN Charter and international law, and began bombing a peaceful Ukraine. Putin launched a full-scale war of conquest, the likes of which has not been seen in the 21st century. On that day, the hope that major wars in Europe were a thing of the past vanished.”
“Ukraine, Andres Rundu continued, is fighting not only for the survival of its country, nation and culture, but also for the existence of all of us. Aggression against a sovereign state in the heart of Europe has endangered the security of the whole of Europe and the values that are important to us. The war unleashed by Putin is a crime that has claimed the lives of many Ukrainian men and women and their willing allies”. This was followed by a much respected minute’s silence for the victims of this war conflict.
“Estonia is one of the first countries that has already started reconstruction work in Ukraine, said the Estonian ambassador, where we focus on the Zotomor region. The construction of an energy-efficient kindergarten in Ovruch started at the end of 2022. Next, participation in the restoration of the Malon Bridge awaits us.”
Referring to the relations between Estonia and Spain, Ambassador Rundu indicated that “they are getting closer and closer, despite the fact that the two are at different ends of Europe. As a reliable ally, Spain has repeatedly participated in NATO’s air security mission in the Baltic countries, and we welcome the recent decision of the Spanish government to send the NASAMS air defence battery to Estonia with its accompanying equipment from April.
“In 2022, the value of goods exported to Spain was €185 million, making the country Estonia’s 20th largest trading partner.” This represented “a 30.6% increase in exports.” The Estonian ambassador also noted that the value of goods imported from Spain “was 278 million euros”, an increase of 42.7 per cent over the previous year. “The interest of Spaniards in the e-residency programme in Estonia is increasing,” said Andres Rundu. As of February 2023, about 4,300 Spanish citizens are e-residents, who in turn have created about 1,700 companies. Spain is a very popular destination in Estonia (75,700 Estonian tourists in 2022), and Spanish tourists are increasingly heading to Estonia (42,500 Spanish tourists in the same year), although there is still some way to go to reach pre-pandemic indicators.”
To conclude, the Estonian ambassador pointed out that “we support the priorities of the future Spanish Presidency of the EU Council that have so far been expressed, and we are ready to contribute to the preparation of summits with CELAC and the southern neighbours. We believe that the future Spanish presidency will be fruitful despite the current difficult international situation and new challenges”.
The reception was attended by Javier Salido Ortiz, Director General of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and Raquel Gómez-Cambronero, Deputy Director General for European Union Countries, together with the ambassadors of Ukraine, Poland, North Macedonia, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, Brazil, Luxembourg, Armenia, South Korea, Albania, Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia and Cyprus, together with representatives of the delegations of Portugal, Montenegro, among others.
