Ene Ergma met Vice Chairman of parliament of China
Today, the President of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma met Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China Huá Jiànmǐn and the delegation of the Chinese parliament accompanying him, who are on a four-day visit in Estonia.
At the meeting, several aspects of parliamentary cooperation were discussed. Both parties stressed the need for closer cooperation at the level of standing committees, noting that it is in the power of the parliament to promote the development of the state in many different spheres.
The Chinese recognised Estonia’s efforts and achievements in budget policy which in their opinion are confirmed by the positive recommendation of the European Commission to soon include Estonia to the euro zone. Huá Jiànmǐn: “We see Estonia as the pearl of the Baltic states and our mutual relations as a great value.”
At the meeting, Ergma highlighted Estonia’s progress in the field of development of information technology and e-state. “We believe that our experience in the development of e-solutions (e-government, e-banking, e-voting, e-Tax Board) might become an object of common interest of the two states,” said Ergma.
Representatives of the Chinese delegation expressed their enthusiasm about the interactive pavilion of Estonia represented at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai which is innovative and expresses progressiveness.
The Chinese part saw a great future in the cooperation between the Port of Tallinn and Chinese ports (in particular, Ningbo), believing that this would help Tallinn to develop into a successful transit centre to the Scandinavian countries.
Cultural and educational cooperation were also briefly touched upon, where the interest of a remarkable number of Chinese students to study at Estonian institutions of higher education and the growing interest of Estonians to study Chinese stand out as positive examples.
Chairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu, Deputy Chairman of the Estonia-China Parliamentary Group Peeter Kreitzberg, Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Enn Eesmaa and member of the Economic Affairs Committee Sven Sester also participated in the meeting.
During their visit to Estonia, the Chinese delegation will also meet President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, the Estonia-China Parliamentary Group of the Riigikogu, and Mayor of Tallinn Edgar Savisaar. They will visit the Port of Tallinn, the Kumu Art Museum and the Open Air Museum. The delegation will leave Estonia in the evening of Wednesday, 26 May.
The Riigikogu Press Service
