Estonia increases diplomatic presence abroad, prioritizes NATO and Human Rights

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet introduced the principles and priorities of Estonia's foreign policy in his annual address to the Riigikogu, the unicameral parliament of Estonia. Mr Paet announced that Estonia's presence abroad will continue increasing, namely with the opening of representations in India and Brazil.

"Foreign policy serves the Estonian people. Internationally we strive for the same goals that we have set for Estonia, so that it would be safer and better to live in both Estonia and the whole world," the official said. Now that Estonia has established its diplomatic presence "in the countries with the top ten economies in the world," it will, however, keep a focus on the four countries which make 51% of its whole export: Sweden, Finland, Russia and Latvia.

On Security topics, Mr Paet reiterated that NATO is the greatest security guarantee for Estonia and the entire (Baltic) region, and that it is important that the Baltic air policing mission continues indefinitely. Also, Estonia plans to significantly increase development cooperation support for Afghanistan and confirmed Human Rights are a constant theme in all areas of its foreign policy.

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