Ratas at the meeting with Prime Minister of Slovakia: our cooperation is especially important now

President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas said at the meeting with Prime Minister of Slovakia Eduard Heger today that strengthening the relations between the two countries was especially important now when Russia was continuing war of aggression in Ukraine.

Ratas believes that Estonia and Slovakia share the same values and are good allies both in NATO and in the European Union. “I am happy we have excellent cooperation also in the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, where Slovakia is one of the founding countries,” Ratas said.

In his opinion, there is a potential for strengthening the relations between the two countries even more by developing cooperation in digital economy, e-governance and cyber security as well as in education. “We are ready to share our experience, but we are also interested in joint cooperation projects,” Ratas said, and pointed out that it was important to strengthen mutual relations especially now when Russia was continuing a war of aggression against Ukraine.

At the meeting, it was considered especially important to continue helping Ukraine in every way. “Ukraine urgently needs more military, financial and humanitarian aid as the winter is coming, and we also have to support post-war reconstruction of the country. Estonia has actively started with reconstruction work in Zhytomyr Oblast,” the President of the Riigikogu stated.

Ratas and Heger also discussed the challenges relating to receiving war refugees from Ukraine. Besides that, they spoke of various solutions to energy crisis, including using of renewable and nuclear energy, as well as supporting the people, the private sector and local governments in coping with the high energy prices.

Source: Parliament of Estonia