EMFA
Today, 3 November, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet is starting his official visit to Canada, where he will meet with members of the Canadian government as well as local Estonians.

Foreign Minister Paet stated that Canada is an important partner for Estonia in NATO and a society that shares the same values. “Further development of political, economic, defence and cultural co-operation between Estonia and Canada is important to us,” he added.

Today Foreign Minister Urmas Paet will meet in Ottawa with Canadian Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan, who has Estonian roots. In addition to Estonia-Canada economic relations, Foreign Minister Paet and International Trade Minister Van Loan will discuss the situation in the global economy and trade relations with the European Union. Canada is a member of the G7, which brings together the world’s seven leading industrial nations. “Canada is an important trade partner for the European Union,” Foreign Minister Paet added.

Tomorrow, 4 November, the Estonian foreign minister has meetings with Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon and Defence Minister Peter MacKay. Topics to be discussed are Estonia-Canada relations, including co-operation opportunities in development co-operation. They will also be discussing the situation in Afghanistan and matters related to NATO’s Strategic Concept and cyber security. Co-operation in the UN and European Union Eastern Partnership will also be addressed.

Estonia-Canada relations are made special by the fact that one of the biggest Estonian communities in the world is found in Canada. “The Estonian community in Canada is socially active and has been remarkably successful in preserving Estonian culture outside of Estonia’s borders,” stated Foreign Minister Paet.

On 3 and 4 November Foreign Minister Urmas Paet will be meeting in Ottawa and Toronto with members of the Estonian community living in the Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto areas. On Thursday, 4 November Paet will visit the Estonian Exile Museum and Tartu College. Tartu College’s educational subsidiary, the Tartu Institute, is involved in studying minority populations in Canada, helping to preserve Estonian culture, and organising study opportunities in Estonian language, literature, history and culture on the university level.

SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE

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