During the meetings, President Karis said he was pleased to see that the opening of the Estonian embassy and a representative office of Enterprise Estonia in the United Arab Emirates in 2019 had provided significant impetus for the development of bilateral relations between the countries and boosted Estonia’s profile on the Arabian peninsula.
The focus of the head of state’s meeting with the Emir of Dubai was opportunities for further economic cooperation. President Karis remarked that despite the geographical distance between them, Estonia and the United Arab Emirates are both innovative small countries that have undergone rapid development in recent decades. “Estonia’s participation in Expo 2020 here in Dubai has contributed further to the exchange of contacts between our countries in a wide range of fields, from the ICT sector to science and culture,” he said.
In meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, President Karis spoke about global and regional challenges. Given the UAE’s seat on the UN Security Council in 2022-2023 and its presidency of the council in March, the main focus of the discussion was the situation in Ukraine. President Karis stressed the importance of defending international law and the UN Charter and supporting Ukraine in every way possible.
