India-Estonia Relations Political Relations: India has long-standing historical links with Estonia. India recognised theRepublic of Estonia on 9th September 1991 and Diplomatic Relations were establishedon 2nd December of the same year. Since then the bilateral relations continued to be cordial and friendly. The Embassy of India in Helsinki is concurrently accredited to Estonia.Estonia opened its Embassy in New Delhi in March 2012. Mr.ViljarLubi has been appointed as Ambassador. Bilateral visits: From Estonia: Minister for Economy and Communications Mr. Juhan Parts visited from 3-8 February 2014 and had a meeting with Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister of Communications & Information Technology and Minister of Law & Justice. Foreign Minister Mr. Urmas Paet visited on12-13 February 2013 to inaugurate the Embassy of Estonia. During the visit he met with External Affairs Minister Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of State for External Affairs Smt. Preneet Kaur, Minister of Shipping Shri G.K. Vasanand Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Shri Sachin Pilot.Minister for Education and Research, Mr. Jaak Aaviksoo visited India on 13-16 October 2013 to attend Cyber Security Conference. Minister for Justice Mr. Hanno Pevkur visited on 9-11 December 2013 and had a meeting with Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Corporate Affairs Shri Sachin Pilot. From India: Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Shri Sachin Pilot visited in 15-16 April 2013. During the visit Shri Pilot met with Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Mr. Juhan Parts, Minister of Justice Mr. Hanno Pevkur and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Urmas Paet. Smt. Lakshmi Panabaka, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas visited on 14-16 June 2013 and had a meeting with Mr. Ando Leppiman, Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan, Minister for State for Environment and Forests visited on 20-22 September 2013 and had a meeting with the Minister of Environment Mrs. Keit Pentus- Rosimannus. Agreements: • Declaration of Principles of Cooperation between the Republic of Estonia and the Republic of India (signed and entered into force on October 15, 1993) • Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation (signed on 15.10.1993; entered into force on October 24, 2004) • Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation (signed on 14.10.1993; entered into force on March 13, 2000) • Protocol on Bilateral Foreign Office Consultations (signed in August 1995) • Agreement on Cooperation in the Spheres of Culture, Education, Science, Sports, Arts, Mass Media, Tourism and Youth Affairs (signed on October 15, 1993, entered into force on November 11,1999) • Agreement on Cooperation in the Fields of Science & Technology (signed on February 5, 1999, entered into force on August 6,1999) • Joint Business Council Agreement between FICCI & Estonian Chamber of Commerce. • The Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion (DTAA) was signed on September 19, 2011. Foreign Office Consultations India-Estonia Foreign Office Consultations were held in Tallinn in May 2012. CommercialRelations: Commercial relations between the two countries are good, but they could be more diverse and more significant. Considering the size of India and its rapidly developing economy, there is significant room for development. Good perspectives for co-operation can be found in information technology, and biotechnology, in which India is a world leader. India’s trade with Estonia remains modest. In 2013, trade with India was around 0.51% of Estonia's total trade. (in Million Euros) 2011 2012 2013 India´s Exports to Estonia 26.7 31.8 26.93 India´s Imports from Estonia 34.8 54.4 38.02 Total Trade 61.5 86.2 64.95 Source: Statistics Estonia India‘s main items of exports to Estonia are cotton, leather products, tea andmetals. Imports from Estonia include copper, iron and steel, paper products andmachinery. ITEC: Estonia is covered under ITEC Programme. The scholarships under theProgramme have become very popular in Estonia. 20 slots have been offeredfor the Financial Year 2014-15. Cultural Relations: There is a strong interest in Estonia for Indian culture. University of Tartu beganteaching of Sanskrit in 1837. Several publications on Sanskrit language and literature were published. In recent years several noted Indian musicians and dancers have givenperformances in Estonia. Interest in Indian culture remains very strong. Indian Community: The Indian community in Estonia is only about 200 and people are largely engaged in businessand restaurants. Useful Resources For more information and latest updates please visit Embassy of Indian to Finland and Estonia website http://www.indianembassy.fi/ Embassy of India to Finland and Estonia Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EmbassyOfIndiaToFinlandAndEstonia Embassy of India to Finland and Estonia Twitter page: https://twitter.com/ambmanickam Important visits from Estonia to India October 1993 Foreign Minister, Mr. TrivimiVelliste February 1999 State visit of President, Mr. Lennart Meri November 2008 Foreign Minister, Mr. UrmasPaet April 2010 Speaker of Parliament, Ms. EneErgma March 2012 Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of Riigikogu, Mr. Marko Mihkelson, July 2012 Prime Minister Mr. Andrus Ansip September-October 2012 Minister for Education and Research Mr. JaakAviksoo February 2013 Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. UrmasPaet October 2013 Minister for Education and Research Mr. JaakAviksoo December 2013 Minister for Justice Mr. Hanno Pevkur February 2014 Minister for Economy and Communications Mr. Juhan Parts Important visits from India to Estonia June 1993 Representatives of the Ministries of External Affairs and Trade August 1995 Minister of State for External Affairs Shri Salman Khurshid November 2003 Minister of State for External Affairs Shri Digvijay Singh July 2008 Special Secretary (AD&CPV) as Special Envoy of Prime Minister March 2011 MOS for External Affairs, Smt. Preneet Kaur June 2011 A 10-member Goodwill delegation of Parliamentarians led by Shri P.K. Bansal Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Science & Technology September 2011 Shri KapilSibal, Minister of Human Resource Development and Communications and Information Technology April 2012 A 27 member delegation comprising 4 Members of Parliament, 1 Cabinet Minister from Govt. of J&K and senior officers visited Estonia for a training programme at E- Governance Academy. April 2013 Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Shri Sachin Pilot June 2013 Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Smt. Lakshmi Panabaka September 2013 Minister of State for Environment and Forests Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan ***** July 2014 .