Today, President of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma met the new President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö, who is on his first official visit to Estonia, and the delegation accompanying him. Education and research issues as well as bilateral relations and the situation in the economy, finance and enterprise were the main topics discussed.

Ergma gave to the Finnish president an overview of the plan of the education reform and new research projects which have prompted a lively response. The unique solar sail that was developed at the Finnish Meteorological institute and is being tested at Tartu University and Tallinn University of Technology within the framework of a student satellite project, and is expected to give revolutionary results in accelerating the movement in inter-planetary space, was discussed in more detail.

The options of young people in acquiring education and profession were also discussed. In Niinistö’s words, in recent years, a trend is observable in Finland that young people have started to think more of establishing their own enterprise and the great potential of opportunities of Northern Finland has been discovered. Also, some changes in fiscal policy have been planned in Finland with a view to encouraging enterprise.

Niinistö stressed that Estonia’s activities in the organising of the finances and economy of the state after the “overheating” had been outstandingly successful. Ergma admitted that, in addition to budget cuts, a significant role had been played by skilful planning of the national stockpiles which had been relatively complicated to manage due to a certain political pressure.

During the conversation, the President of the Riigikogu also expressed her interest in the state of matters in Nokia. President Niinistö explained that developments have been positive and he was convinced that Nokia will regain its position in the information technology world. The Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu and the head of the Estonia–Finland Parliamentary Group Taavi Rõivas who participated in the meeting added that he believes that Finland is an excellent place for innovative initiatives also today.

Ergma also spoke about Rail Baltica and the role of politicians in supporting this cause. The Finnish president noted that Finns have a great interest in this project and it is expected to bring profit also to the Finnish economy.

The future perspectives of the cooperation of the speakers of the parliaments of the Nordic and Baltic countries (NB8) were also discussed.

At the end of the meeting, Niinistö said that Ene Ergma is always a welcome guest in Finland.

The Deputy Chairman of the Estonia–Finland Parliamentary Group Urve Tiidus also participated in the meeting.

The Riigikogu Press Service