“Germany is one of the most important and diverse trading partners for Estonia and we’re interested in strengthening our economic ties further, also at regional level,” said President Alar Karis. “The purpose of this visit is to strengthen cooperation between Estonia and Germany and to further develop our economic relations. I am accompanied by a business delegation and representatives of the cultural sector, because in addition to cooperation in the fields of green technology, digital solutions, defence industry and science, we also believe it’s important to maintain a cultural bridge – especially in a significant year, when we celebrate the 90th birthday of Arvo Pärt and the 500th anniversary of Estonian books. I also went on a similar visit to Germany last spring – this visit clearly shows that our spirit of cooperation is consistent and meaningful. This time, the focus is mainly on cooperation with the state of Saxony.”
Tomorrow, President Karis will meet Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer and Minister of Economic Affairs Dirk Panter in Dresden and will open a business forum. He will also visit X-Fab, a member of Silicon Saxony, the largest microelectronics cluster in Europe, and the new Dresden office of Estonian software development company Nortal.
The President of the Republic will open the largest exhibition of art cooperation between Estonia and Germany to date, “Spiegel im Spiegel. Encounters between Estonian and German Art from Lucas Cranach to Arvo Pärt and Gerhard Richter”, a collaboration between the Dresden State Art Collections and the Estonian Art Museum, dedicated to the 90th birthday of the composer Arvo Pärt. The Head of State will visit the Theater Junge Generation, Germany’s largest children’s and youth theatre, which will be managed by dramatist and playwright Mihkel Seeder from this coming summer.
On Thursday, the Estonian Head of State will visit Mittweida and Chemnitz. In Mittweida, President Karis will open an Estonian-German business seminar and the strengthening economic and cultural ties between the two regions will be confirmed at a meeting with the town leaders.
The visit will end in Chemnitz, which has been chosen as the European Capital of Culture 2025 – as the fourth city in eastern Germany. Chemnitz is the third largest city in Saxony and an important partner for Estonia in promoting cultural cooperation. The delegation of the Head of State also includes the Mayor of Tartu Urmas Klaas, who will represent Tartu, which held the title of the European Capital of Culture in 2024. There will also be a visit to the exhibition “European Realities”, which deals with European society and art of the 1920s and 1930s through realistic trends, which was created in cooperation with the Estonian Art Museum and also showcases the work of Estonian artists.
President Karis also plans to visit the soon to be completed Skeleton factory near Leipzig.
The business delegation accompanying the President of the Republic includes Insta Globe Engineering, Gofore Estonia, Praktikal Education, Proekspert, NOTE Pärnu, CGI Estonia, Net Group, Skeleton Technologies, Nortal and ADM Interactive, as well as the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce and the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency.
The cultural delegation includes representatives from the Estonian Concert Halls, the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art, the Estonian Art Museum, the Estonian Literature Centre, the University of Tartu Library, the University of Tartu, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Tallinn University, the Estonian Academy of Arts, the Arvo Pärt Centre, the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design, Gallery Art&Tonic, Music Estonia, the Tartu Art Museum, Theater Junge Generation and the Ministry of Culture.
The President of the Republic will return to Estonia late in the evening of 8 May.
