The President of the Republic of Estonia, Alar Karis President of Estonia. , was on a working visit to Canada this week, from where he will arrive home today.
"Currently, Estonia and Canada have so many active joint ventures that we can talk about a positive high point in our relations. We are in complete agreement on all important foreign policy issues, it is extremely important for us to promote a strong alliance and cooperation in NATO, and we work every day to support Ukraine. I am very happy that Canada will soon open a permanent embassy in Tallinn Tallinn, the largest city and capital of Estonia (population 440 000). ," said President Alar Karis President of Estonia. during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Estonian head of state expressed appreciation for Canada's determination and persistence to contribute to the security of the Baltic region, as Canada's largest contingent of troops outside its home country is located in the Baltic countries.
The head of state thanked Canada for supporting Estonian refugees over many decades. "Canada has been an inspiration in its hospitality. We learn from this experience and know that it is now important to help Ukrainian war refugees," said President Karis.
According to the President of Estonia, geopolitical developments and Russian aggression have shown that all activities that help the democratic world to reduce its supply chains' dependence on authoritarian countries are important today. President Karis highlighted the Canadian company Neo Performance Material (NPM), which owns a rare earth processing plant in Sillamäe. The company is investing 100 million in a new permanent magnet factory, which will increase the production of permanent magnets in the European Union sixfold. "This investment is an example of the possibility of manufacturing important components for European companies also in the European Union. We are glad that a suitable place for this was found in Estonia," said President Karis at the meeting.
The meeting also touched upon Estonia's efforts to become an observer member of the Arctic Council and energy security issues.