Chronology 2005
January
01/01 Luxembourg assumes the Presidency of the European Union.
Estonia assumes the Chairmanship of the Baltic Council of Ministers (BCM).
03/01 The Estonian Rescue Board Medical Team embarks, in accordance with a Government decision, for Indonesia to aid tsunami victims.
06/01 The agreement for the protection of information by the parties to the North Atlantic Treaty takes effect.
11/01 The World Economic Forum selects Prime Minister Juhan Parts to be a member of the Forum of Young Global Leaders.
14–15/01 Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland attends an informal meeting held by the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in Palanga, Lithuania.
17/01 The Finnish minister for foreign trade and development cooperation Paula Lehtomäki pays a working visit to Estonia.
18/01 The Estonian and Russian Foreign Ministries hold political consultations in Moscow.
20–22/01 President Arnold Rüütel pays a working visit to Moscow to receive a high decoration of the International Fund for Unity Among the Orthodox People. In the course of the visit, President Rüütel meets His Holiness Alexy II, the Patriarch of Moscow and All
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Russia, and the president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
22–24/01 President Arnold Rüütel pays a working visit to Ukraine to attend the inauguration of President Viktor Yushchenko.
22–26/01 Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland visits Egypt.
24–26/01 Prime Minister Juhan Parts attends World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
26–27/01 The foreign minister of the Slovak Republic Eduard Kukan pays a working visit to Estonia.
26–28/01 President Arnold Rüütel visits Poland to attend the ceremonial commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
27/01 The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Slovenia hold consultations concerning national security policy in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
27–28/01 The Tunisian Foreign Ministry’s secretary of state for European relations Mohamed Ben Salem visits Estonia.
28/01 Prime Minister Juhan Parts pays a working visit to Sweden.
29/01 Prime Minister Juhan Parts pays a working visit to Latvia.
31/01 Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland visits Belgium and meets the Belgian foreign minister, Karel de Gucht.
31/01–05/02 The chairman of the Riigikogu, Ene Ergma, pays an offi cial visit to Canada, where she meets the speaker of the Canadian Senate Dan Hays.
85 2005 ESTONIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS YEARBOOK
February
03–04/02 Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland visits Georgia, where she is one of the speakers at the international conference The South Caucasus – Challenges and Opportunities.
07/02 The Belgian Foreign Ministry’s secretary of state for EU affairs Didier Donfut visits Estonia. Within the framework of his visit, the Belgian Embassy is offi cially opened.
08–09/02 The special coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Erhard Busek visits Estonia.
09/02 Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland participates in a NATO foreign ministers informal luncheon in Brussels. Within this framework, she meets with the foreign minister of Slovenia, Dimitrij Rupel.
The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Hungary hold political consultations in Tallinn.
14–15/02 Prime Minister Juhan Parts pays a working visit to Norway, where he meets with King Harald V, Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, and Foreign Minister Jan Petersen.
Estonia is represented at an EU development cooperation ministers’ informal meeting in Luxembourg by a delegation headed by the Foreign Ministry’s secretary general Priit Kolbre.
21/02 Rein Lang is appointed foreign minister.
21–23/02 A Russian State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee delegation headed by Committee Chairman Konstantin Kossachev visits Estonia. Chairman Kossachev meets with President Arnold Rüütel and the chairman of the Riigikogu’s Foreign Affairs Commit- tee Marko Mihkelson.
22/02 Prime Minister Juhan Parts participates in the NATO Summit and the EU-US Leaders’ Meeting in Brussels.
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March
02/03 Foreign Minister Rein Lang pays a working visit to Finland.
04/03 Estonia and Romania hold consultations concerning the EU in Bucharest, Romania.
07/03 The foreign minister of the Netherlands Bernard Rudolf Bot pays a working visit to Estonia.
The political directors of the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and German Foreign Ministries meet in Vilnius, Lithuania.
10–11/03 Undersecretary Sven Jürgenson participates in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)-European Union Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.
11/03 The Estonian Honorary Consulate is opened in Poznan, Poland.
The Foreign Ministry decides to support fi ve Development Assistance Projects directed at Georgia, Ukraine, and Armenia with 1.36 million EEK.
12/03 The Estonian Honorary Consulate is opened in Nancy, France.
Foreign Minister Rein Lang participates in the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian foreign ministers’ meeting in Riga, Latvia.
22–23/03 Prime Minister Juhan Parts, Foreign Minister Rein Lang, and Finance Minister Taavi Veskimägi attend the European Council session in Brussels. Prime Minister Parts also participates in the Nordic and Baltic prime ministers meeting.
26/03 Estonia and Bulgaria hold consultations concerning EU matters in Bulgaria.
27–29/03 The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Serbia and Montenegro hold a meeting concerning
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EU matters in Tallinn.
29/03 The president of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus pays a working visit to Tallinn.
31/03 The World Bank Nordic-Baltic Group, with the participation of the representatives of the Finance and Foreign Ministries of eight countries, holds its meeting in Estonia,
The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Italy hold political consultations in Tallinn.
April
01/04 New Zealand abolishes visa requirements for Estonian citizens.
02–03/04 President Arnold Rüütel visits Finland.
04/04 Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick and the principal deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Robert A. Bradtke pay a working visit to Estonia.
The Estonian Atlantic Treaty Association celebrates NATO 56 and the fi rst anniversary of Estonian NATO membership in the Foreign Ministry.
05/04 The Foreign Ministry’s secretary general Priit Kolbre participates in the Persian Gulf Cooperative Council and European Union foreign ministers’ meeting in Bahrein.
08/04 President Arnold Rüütel, his wife Ingrid, and the Archbishop of the Estonian Evan- gelical Lutheran Church Andres Põder attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II in the Vatican.
11–14/04 The speaker of the Macedonian Parliament Ljupco Jordanovski visits Estonia.
13/04 The Estonian and Indian Foreign Ministries hold political consultations in Tallinn.
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The new Estonian Government, headed by Andrus Ansip, is sworn into offi ce in the Riigikogu, with Urmas Paet becoming foreign minister.
15–16/04 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the EU foreign ministers’ informal meeting in Luxembourg.
20–21/04 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the North Atlantic Council (NAC), the NATO-Ukraine Commission, and the NATO-Russia Council foreign ministers’ informal meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania. He also meets with the Latvian and Lithuanian foreign ministers as well as the Lithuanian president Valdas Adamkus.
21/04 The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Argentina hold political consultations in Tallinn.
22/04 The Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and High Representative of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Javier Solana visits Estonia.
Estonia and Iraq establish diplomatic relations.
The Foreign Ministry decides to support fi ve development and humanitarian projects directed at Georgia, Moldova, and Indonesia, as well an educational project aimed at Estonian youth concerning development cooperation, with 940,000 EEK.
23–25/04 President Arnold Rüütel, his wife Ingrid, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, and the chair- man of the Estonian Council of Churches Einar Soone attend the inauguration cer- emony of Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican.
26/04 The Foreign Ministry’s secretary general Priit Kolbre participates in the EU European affairs ministers’ informal conference on communications in Luxembourg.
28/04 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the Fifth Joint Meeting of the Nordic Council and the Baltic Assembly in Pärnu.
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May
02/05 The prime minister of Denmark Anders Fogh Rasmussen pays a working visit to Estonia.
03/05 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip pays a working visit to Finland.
03–05/05 The chairman of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma participates in the Nordic and Baltic states’ parliamentary speakers’ meeting in Denmark.
05–08/05 The chairman of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma participates in the EU Member States’ parliamentary speakers’ meeting in Hungary.
06/05 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet addresses the Latvian Transatlantic Organisation’s con- ference “Democracy beyond the Baltics: Euro-Atlantic Contribution”.
06–07/05 An Estonian delegation headed by the Foreign Ministry’s secretary general Priit Kolbre participates in the Seventh Asia-Europe Meeting’s (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kyoto, Japan.
A Riigikogu delegation headed by the chairman of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma participates in the EU Members States’ speakers of parliament conference in Budapest, Hungary.
President Arnold Rüütel and Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participate in the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian presidents’ meeting with the president of the United States, George W. Bush, in Riga, Latvia. The foreign ministers of Estonia and Latvia also meet.
09/05 The European Commission’s commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, Louis Michel, visits Estonia.
In response to the continuing humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, the Foreign Ministry earmarks 400,000 EEK for the Offi ce of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide humanitarian aid for the refugees in the Darfur region.
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12/05 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet pays a working visit to Sweden.
Spain’s secretary of state for EU affairs Alaberto Navarro and the secretary of state for trade and tourism Pedro Mejia, along with a Spanish business delegation pay a working visit to Estonia.
16–17/05 President Arnold Rüütel participates in the Third Summit of Heads of State and Govern- ment of the Council of Europe in Warsaw, Poland.
17–18/05 The European Union’s special representative in Afghanistan Francesc Vendrell visits Estonia.
18/05 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet pays an offi cial visit to Russia. In the course of the visit, Foreign Minister Paet and the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov sign the Estonian- Russian Border Treaty.
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet meets with the Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja in Helsinki.
19/05 The United States Senate unanimously passes Senate Concurrent Resolution 35, “ex- pressing the sense of Congress that the Government of the Russian Federation should issue a clear and unambiguous statement of admission and condemnation of the illegal occupation and annexation by the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1991 of the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.”
19–20/05 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip pays a working visit to Latvia. In addition to meeting with the president of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga as well as the prime ministers of Latvia and Lithuania, Prime Minister Ansip offi cially opens the Estonian Days in Riga, and an Estonian-Latvian business seminar being held in conjunction with the Days.
23/05 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip visits Finland. In the course of the visit, Prime Minister Ansip addresses Finnish industrialists at an Elinkeinoelämän valtuuskunta (a Finnish economic policy think tank) dinner.
91 2005 ESTONIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS YEARBOOK
23–26/05 Chairman of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma pays an offi cial visit to Lithuania.
24–25/05 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council forum “Managing Security – Our Common Challenge” in Sweden.
25/05 The Estonian Honorary Consulate is opened in Eskilstuna, Sweden.
25–27/05 President Arnold Rüütel pays a state visit to Bulgaria.
26–27/05 The Foreign Ministry’s secretary general Priit Kolbre participates in the XIIth Ministerial Meeting of the EU-Rio Group (Rio Group – forum assembling all Latin American countries).
30–31/05 Members of the European Parliament’s Constitutional Commission visit Estonia.
The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Croatia hold their fi rst bilateral political consul- tations in Zagreb, Croatia.
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the VIIth Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Luxembourg, with the Barcelona Process being one of the main topics of discussion.
31/05 The speaker of the Finnish parliament Paavo Lipponen participates in the meeting of the European Parliament’s social democratic group taking place in Tallinn.
Diplomatic relations are established between Estonia and Eritrea.
31/05–01/06 The president of the Austrian Nationalrat Andreas Kohl visits Estonia.
June
03 – 04/06 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip pays a working visit to Luxembourg.
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08–09/06 An Estonian delegation participates in the “Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Conference on Anti-Semitism and on Other Forms of Intolerance” in Cordoba, Spain. The delegation is headed by Undersecretary Sven Jürgenson of the Foreign Ministry, who also addresses the conference.
09/06 The Estonian and Georgian Foreign Ministries hold political consultations in Tallinn.
09–10/06 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the 13th Ministerial Session of the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in Szczecin, Poland.
10/06 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip participates in the Nordic and Baltic Prime Ministers’ Meeting in Denmark.
16/06 Diplomatic relations are established between Estonia and Djibouti.
16–17/06 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participate in the Euro- pean Council session in Brussels.
President Arnold Rüütel pays a working visit to Ukraine to participate in the World Economic Forum’s Extraordinary Ukraine Roundtable.
20/06 The European Commission’s commissioner for regional policy Danuta Hübner visits Estonia.
21/06 The Foreign Ministry decides to support development assistance projects directed at Ukraine, as well as Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, with 490,000 EEK.
Diplomatic relations are established between Estonia and Suriname.
22/06 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in an international conference in Brussels dealing with Iraq. While there, Foreign Minister Paet meets with the foreign minister of Ireland Dermot Ahern.
93 2005 ESTONIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS YEARBOOK
The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Israel hold political and economic consultations in Tallinn.
26–30/06 The chairman of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma pays an offi cial visit to Iceland.
27–28/06 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip addresses the economic conference “Forbes CEO Forum – Europe” in Paris.
27–29/06 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet pays an offi cial visit to the Czech Republic.
28–29/06 The president of Germany Horst Köhler visits Estonia.
30/06–02/07 The general secretary of the Georgian Security Council Ambassador Gela Bezhuashvili visits Estonia.
July
01/07 Diplomatic relations are established between Estonia and Afghanistan.
03-06/07 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet pays an offi cial visit to Moldova.
05-06/07 The president of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski pays an offi cial visit to Estonia.
07/07 The general secretary of the Nordic Council of Ministers Per Unckel visits Estonia and meets with Foreign Minister Urmas Paet.
12/07 The United Kingdom’s minister of state for Europe Douglas Alexander visits Estonia.
29-30/07 The president of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus pays a working visit to Estonia’s island county of Saaremaa.
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August
06–08/08 President Arnold Rüütel pays a working visit to Finland.
08–10/08 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet pays an offi cial visit to Finland. In the course of the visit, an Estonian-Finnish memorandum of understanding is signed regarding the assigning of an Estonian consular offi cial to the Finnish Embassy in New Delhi.
10/08 The chairman of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma pays an offi cial visit to Finland.
16–17/08 The foreign minister of China Zhaoxing Li pays a working visit to Estonia.
22–24/08 The Euro-Mediterranean Barcelona Process seminar “Do the Baltic countries also have a Mediterranean border? – Ten years after the Barcelona Declaration” takes place in Tallinn.
23/08 Diplomatic relations are established between Estonia and Ethiopia.
23–30/08 President Arnold Rüütel pays a state visit to China.
25–26/08 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the Nordic and Baltic Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bornholm, Denmark.
31/08 Diplomatic relations are established between Estonia and Cambodia.
31/08–01/09 The president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Alcee L. Hastings visits Estonia.
95 2005 ESTONIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS YEARBOOK
September
01–02/09 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the EU foreign ministers’ informal meeting in Newport, Wales.
05–11/09 The chairman of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma participates in the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Second World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments at the UN Headquarters in New York.
06–08/09 President Arnold Rüütel pays a state visit to Turkey.
07–08/09 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet visits the United States. In the course of the visit, Foreign Minister Paet meets with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advi- sor Stephen Hadley, Undersecretary of Defence Eric Edelman, Senators John McCain and Richard Lugar, Representative John Shimkus, and the former secretary of state Madeleine Albright.
08/09 The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Finland hold political consultations in Helsinki, Finland.
10/09 Foreign minister Urmas Paet visits Ukraine.
12/09 An Estonian consular offi cial begins working on the premises of the Finnish Embassy in India.
13–14/09 The prime minister of Slovenia Janez Janša pays an offi cial visit to Estonia.
13–17/09 President Arnold Rüütel participates in the Summit of the 60th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
14–15/09 The deputy trade minister of Italy Adolfo Urso visits Estonia, meeting with Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, and participating in an Estonian-Italian business seminar.
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15/09 The Foreign Ministry decides to support development aid projects directed at Ukraine, Moldova, and Egypt, as well as the informing of the Estonian general public about development cooperation, in the amount of 1,149,298 EEK.
16-20/09 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the ministers of the European Union week within the framework of the 60th Session of the UN General Assembly. In the course of this, Foreign Minister Paet meets with the foreign minister of Georgia Salome Zourabi- chvili; the deputy prime minister of Thailand Surakiart Sathirathai; the foreign minister of Egypt Ahmed Aboul Gheiti; the prime and foreign minister of Antigua and Barbuda Baldwin Spencer; The deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Greenland’s Home Rule Government Josef Motzfeldt; the foreign minister of Macedonia Ilinka Mitreva; the foreign minister of Montenegro Miodrag Vlahovici; the under secretary for democracy and global affairs of the U.S. State Department Paula J. Dobriansky; as well as with representatives of B’nai B’rith.
17/09 The Estonian Development Cooperation Roundtable, in conjunction with the Foreign Ministry and the Estonian European Movement, holds its fi rst “World Day” in a park in the heart of Tallinn so as to inform the general public about developing countries and humanitarian aid.
17–20/09 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip pays a working visit to Iraq, meeting with Vice-Presi- dent and Acting President Adil Abd Al-Mahd, Vice-President Ghazi al-Ujayl al-Yawr, and Defence Minister Sa’dun al-Dulaym.
18–19/09 The president of the Hong Kong Legislative Council Rita Fan visits Estonia.
19/09 The UN human rights rapporteur on Belarus Adrian Severin visits Estonia.
19–20/09 The president of Israel Moshe Katzav pays a state visit to Estonia.
22–24/09 The fourth Estonian honorary consuls’ conference is held in Tallinn.
97 2005 ESTONIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS YEARBOOK
26/09 The Finnish Honorary Consulate is opened in Tartu.
27–28/09 The BCM’s prime ministers’ meeting is held in Kuresaare.
The Foreign Ministry’s secretary general Priit Kolbre participates in the meeting of Nordic and Baltic secretary generals of the foreign ministries in Copenhagen, Denmark.
27/09–02/10 The international conference of Atlantic Treaty Associations, with the theme “Democracy and Human Rights – NATO’s New Mission”, is held in Tallinn.
28/09 The deputy foreign minister of Mexico Maria de Lourdes Aranda Bezaury pays a working visit to Estonia.
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet pays a working visit to Latvia.
28–29/09 The president of Moldova Vladimir Voronin pays an offi cial visit to Estonia. Within the framework of the visit, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Moldova Andrei Stratan meets with Foreign Minister Urmas Paet.
29/09–01/10 The chairman of the Riigikogu, Ene Ergma, participates in the Nordic and Baltic speakers of parliament joint visit to Ukraine.
October
03–04/10 The foreign minister of the Flemish Region of Belgium Geert Bourgeois visits Estonia.
06–17/10 President Arnold Rüütel pays a working visit to Sweden.
11/10 The Estonian disaster relief team embarks for Pakistan to aid earthquake victims.
12/10 Diplomatic relations are established between Estonia and Niger.
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12–13/10 The president of Slovakia Ivan Gašparovič pays a state visit to Estonia.
14/10 The Estonian Honorary Consulate is opened in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
16–17/10 President Arnold Rüütel participates in the Baltic Development Forum Summit in Stockholm, Sweden.
17/10 The Estonian Honorary Consulate is opened in Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico.
18–19/10 The minister-president of the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt Wolfgang Böhmer visits Estonia.
20/10 Diplomatic relations are established between Estonia and the Bahamas.
The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Turkey hold national security policy consulta- tions in Turkey.
The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Germany hold political consultations in Berlin.
21/10 The Estonian Honorary Consulate is opened in Brecon, United Kingdom (Wales).
The Foreign Ministry decides to support the launching of development cooperation projects directed at Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as the informing of the Estonian general public about these projects, with 701,352 EEK.
23–25/10 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip participates in the Nordic-Baltic Prime Ministers’ Meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland. In the course of his visit, Prime Minister Ansip meets with the prime minister of Iceland Halldór Ásgrimsson.
24–25/10 An Estonian delegation, headed by the Foreign Ministry’s new secretary general Matti Maasikas participates in the EU development cooperation ministers’ informal meeting in the United Kingdom.
99 2005 ESTONIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS YEARBOOK
24–26/10 The OSCE high commissioner on national minorities Rolf Ekéus visits Estonia.
27/10 The Foreign Ministry earmarks 400,000 EEK for UNICEF to aid Pakistan’s earthquake victims.
27–28/10 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip participates in the informal summit of the EU heads of state and government in Hampton Court, United Kingdom.
27–29/10 The chairman of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma meets with the chairman of the Swedish Riksdag Björn von Sydov and representatives of the Riksdag’s women’s network.
31/10–03/11 The chairman of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma pays an offi cial visit to Latvia.
November
01–03/11 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet visits the United Kingdom. Within the framework of the visit, Foreign Minister Paet participates in the Estonian Cultural and Business Days in Edinburgh, and addresses the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House in London.
03/11 President Arnold Rüütel, the president of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga, and the president of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus have a working meeting in Maardu, Estonia.
07-08/11 The prime minister of Croatia Ivo Sanader pays an offi cial visit to Estonia.
14-16/11 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet visits Italy, where he meets with the foreign minister of Italy Gianfranco Fini, and the president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Deputies Gustavo Selva.
15/11 Estonia and Ireland hold political consultations in Ireland.
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17–18/11 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip pays a working visit to Germany, where he participates in the Estonian Days in Hamburg, and in Berlin, meets with the chancellor designate Angela Merkel.
20/11 The president of Finland Tarja Halonen visits Estonia.
20–22/11 The chairman of the Board of Governors of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) Ambas- sador Paul R. Brouwer visits Estonia.
21/11 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the EU Civilian Capabilities Improvement Conference in Brussels.
22/11 The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and France hold political consultations in France.
22–24/11 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet visits Germany, where he speaks, at the Fredrich Schiller University of Jena, about the future of Europe, and meets with Foreign Minister Frank- Walter Steinmeier.
President Arnold Rüütel pays a working visit to Georgia, where he addresses the international conference “Europe’s New Wave of Liberation: Democracy and Trans- formation”.
24/11 The prime minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen pays a working visit to Estonia.
25/11 The Cooperation Council of the BCM holds its meeting in Tallinn.
27–28/11 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip participates in the EU-Mediterranean Summit, dedi- cated to the tenth anniversary of the Barcelona Process, in Barcelona, where he meets with the prime minister of Morocco Driss Jettou and the prime minister of Egypt Ahmed Nazef.
101 2005 ESTONIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS YEARBOOK
27–30/11 President Arnold Rüütel pays a state visit to Portugal.
28–29/11 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip attends the annual conference of the Confederation of British Indusry.
29–30/11 The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Moldova hold political consultations in Chişinâu, Moldova.
December
01/12 The prime minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair visits Estonia, where he meets with the prime ministers of all three Baltic states.
01–02/12 President Arnold Rüütel, together with the other heads of state of the Baltic, Black and Caspian Sea regions, participates in the founding forum of the Community of Democratic Choice in Kiev, Ukraine.
02/12 The Open Estonia Foundation, in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry, holds the in- ternational conference “A Challenge for the Enlarged EU: European Choice for Belarus” in Tallinn.
05/12 The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Austria hold political consultations in Vienna, Austria.
05–06/12 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the 13th OSCE Ministerial Council Meet- ing in Ljubljana, within the framework of which, Foreign Minister Paet meets with the foreign minister of Russia Sergei Lavrov; the foreign minister of Georgia Gela Bezhuashvili; and on a 3+3 basis, with the foreign ministers of the other two Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the foreign ministers of the South Caucasus countries.
06/12 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip meets, in Brussels, with the president of the European
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Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, the economic and monetary affairs commissioner of the European Commission Joaquin Almunia, and the secretary general of NATO Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
The Foreign Ministries of Estonia and Macedonia hold consular consultations in Skopje, Macedonia.
06–09/12 President Arnold Rüütel pays a state visit to Latvia, in the course of which, President Rüütel is awarded an honorary doctorate by the Latvian Agricultural University.
06–10/12 The chairman of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma pays an offi cial visit to Georgia, where Chairman Ergma addresses the Tbilisi Foundation for Strategic and International Studies about Estonia’s experiences as an EU and NATO member.
07/12 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the EU Foreign Ministers’ Financial Perspec- tive Conclave in Brussels. Foreign Minister Paet also takes part in the joint meeting held by the foreign ministers of three Nordic countries and the three Baltic states.
08/12 Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participates in the ministerial meetings of the North Atlantic Council, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the NATO-Ukraine Commis- sion, and the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels.
13–18/12 An Estonian delegation headed by the Foreign Ministry’s undersecretary for economic and development affairs Mart Laanemäe participates in the Sixth World Trade Organi- zation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong.
15/12 The Foreign Ministry earmarks 2.4 million EEK to support several UN development cooperation and humanitarian aid funds, as well as the International Red Cross.
15–16/12 Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participate in the Euro- pean Council session in Brussels.
19/12 The foreign minister of Finland Erkki Tuomioja pays a working visit to Estonia.
103 2005 ESTONIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS YEARBOOK
21/12 Diplomatic relations are established between Estonia and East Timor.
28/12 The Foreign Ministry decides to support, on the basis of voluntary contributions, the Afghanistan fund for the fi ght against narcotics with 50,000 USD and the UN emer- gency relief fund with 24,000 USD.
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