Foreign Minister Paet: Holland’s Contribution to Stabilising Situation in Afghanistan Has Been Essential

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Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, in Estonia for a visit, discussed the situation in Afghanistan. Paet stated that during the next few months a situation must be created in which responsibility can gradually be handed over to the Afghan authorities. “Handing responsibility for state security over to the local authorities is an essential step in building up the state of Afghanistan. Including the Afghans more in stabilising their security situation, for example in the security forces of NATO and other international organisations or in the Moshtarek operation that took place in co-operation with Afghan security forces, has already brought good results,” stated Foreign Minister Paet.

Paet stated that Estonia is increasing its civil contribution in Afghanistan. “This year we plan to send five more civilian police officers to the Afghan police training centre in Kandahar. We will also double our contribution to the European Union Police Mission,” said Paet. In addition, Estonia has plans to support the Afghan reintegration fund.

The two also discussed Estonia’s candidacy to be the location for the EU IT agency for justice and home affairs. “Taking into consideration Estonia’s highly developed IT sector, we believe that Estonia possesses all the qualifications to be a good location for the agency,” stated Foreign Minister Paet. Paet added that it is important to adhere to the 2003 decision of the European Council, according to which new European Union agencies should be located in new member states.

In talking about the economic situation more generally, the Estonian and Dutch foreign ministers agreed that all the euro zone member states must follow a responsible economic policy, as it is essential for the strength and unity of the euro zone. “Upon fulfilling all the requirements, Estonia would like to join the euro zone at the beginning of next year. Going over to the euro will significantly increase confidence in the economic environment for Estonian residents and those investing in Estonia,” said Paet. The foreign minister stated that Estonia will continue supporting investment awareness, innovation and education in order to ensure the recovery and competitiveness of the economy in the long run.

Foreign Minister Paet noted that co-operation between Estonia and Holland has worked well in representing each other for the issuing of visas. The Netherlands represent Estonia in Kenya and Jordan. Estonia represents the Netherlands for the issuing of visas in Pskov. The two ministers also discussed cultural co-operation between the countries. “Groningen University in the Netherlands is one of the ten places in the world where it is possible to study Estonian,” said Paet.

The Estonian and Dutch foreign ministers also discussed the creation of the European Union’s foreign service, Eastern Partnership, issues related to climate change, and the EU’s relations with Russia.

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