President Karis expressed his respect and gratitude for Canada’s decisiveness and constancy in contributing to the security of the Baltic region, which is home to the country’s largest military contingent outside of its own borders.
The head of state thanked Canada for its support of Estonian refugees over the decades. “Canada has been a great source of inspiration for its hospitality,” he said. “It has set an example to us all, and it is part of the reason why we know that we must help those fleeing the war in Ukraine.”
President Karis says geopolitical developments and Russia’s aggression have shown that every action taken to help the democratic world reduce its supply-chain dependence on authoritarian countries is important. He highlighted the Canadian company Neo Performance Materials (NPM), which owns a factory processing rare earth metals in Sillamäe in Estonia. The company is investing 100 million euros in a new factory making permanent magnets which will increase the production of such magnets in the European Union six-fold. “That investment shows that key components for European companies can be produced within the EU as well,” President Karis remarked. “We are delighted that a site for the factory was found in Estonia.”
During their discussion, President Karis and Prime Minister Trudeau also touched on energy security issues and Estonia’s aspirations to become an observer state of the Arctic Council.
