(Singapore 5 June 2023) Estonia, a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe, has opened its Embassy in Singapore.
Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong said in the Embassy’s inauguration ceremony that the Embassy started operations earlier in 2021, although the official opening had to be pushed back because of Covid-19 restrictions. But the delay meant that the opening this year also coincides with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries.
He said that Singapore and Estonia may be far apart geographically, but indeed the two countries share many similarities and common interests.
“We are both relatively small economies – relatively small, because Estonia has a smaller population than us, but a much larger landmass compared to Singapore,” he said, noting that both countries are open economies as well. We rely heavily on trade, and that is why we are both staunch supporters of free trade and a rules-based international order.
“All these commonalities and shared perspectives have provided a strong foundation for our bilateral relations, which has grown from strength to strength.”
In 2016, Singapore became the home of Estonia’s first Enterprise Estonia office in Southeast Asia. The two countries have also recently agreed to collaborate in the areas of Cyber Defence, and Digital Cooperation.
Wong said the business exchanges between the two countries are also growing. The Estonian Prime Minister has included in her delegation several Estonian businesses to explore opportunities for collaboration. One area of promise, as the Prime Minister said, is in tech – all sorts of tech.
“Indeed, with the recently concluded EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, as well as the digital partnership, Singapore is well-placed as a launch pad to our region. Likewise, we encourage our enterprises to make use of Estonia as a base to seize the many opportunities in the Baltics and wider European region,” he said, stressing that here now with this Business Hub, he is sure many of Singaporean enterprises will find it more convenient to link up with you and to venture abroad through Estonia.
He also expressed hopes of deepening bilateral business ties by expanding cooperation to facilitate such business-to-business link-ups, especially in the areas of technology and innovation.
