The head of state added that Estonia is still providing Ukraine with its own national assistance and continuing to champion all manner of support for the beleaguered country in the EU. “Faced with the conflict which has erupted in the Middle East, we cannot allow our efforts and cooperation in support of Ukraine to wane, including for the nation’s journey towards EU and NATO accession,” he remarked. He stressed that in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the most important thing was to ensure that hostilities did not spread and that humanitarian aid reaches Gaza, where the situation has deteriorated sharply.
During the meeting, President Karis and Prime Minister Støre touched on the risks that have arisen around critical infrastructure in the Nordic-Baltic region, in response to which NATO allies have demonstrated their vigilance and unity. “Finland’s recent and Sweden’s imminent accession to the alliance will boost the potential of NATO’s defence and deterrence posture in the Baltic Sea region and, among other things, help us to more effectively coordinate the monitoring and protection of critical underwater infrastructure,” the head of state said.
President Karis added that he values Nordic-Baltic cooperation very highly. He highlighted the report on Norwegian-Estonian cooperation in the fields of renewable energy and the green transition, which sets out in great detail potential areas in which the two countries can work together. These include the development of wind farms, the adoption of hydrogen technology and new solutions for the capturing of carbon. The Estonian head of state expressed his hope that cooperation between the organisers of Tartu and Bodø as European Capitals of Culture would further enrich relations between Estonia and Norway in its own special way.
