Estonian parliament speaker on working visit to Washington with Nordic and Baltic counterparts

TALLINN - Speaker of the Estonian Parliament Eiki Nestor and other speakers of the parliaments of the Baltic and Nordic countries are on a two-day working visit to Washington on Tuesday, where they will also meet with House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan.

The agenda for Tuesday includes meetings with Andrea Thompson, national security advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, Israel Hernandez, deputy chief of staff of international trade administration for the Secretary of Commerce, Tom Shannon, undersecretary of state for political affairs, and Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, spokespeople for the Estonian Parliament told.

On Wednesday, the speakers will be welcomed by House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Senior Director for Europe and Eurasia at the National Security Council Fiona Hill.

Nestor is also scheduled to give a presentation at a roundtable on security, economy, and technology at the U.S. Congress.

"The economies of the Nordic countries and the Baltic states are closely connected, and therefore security cooperation is also important for us. Estonia is contributing to ensuring security through NATO, the European Union and also through the joint activities of the region," Nestor said.

Participants in the two-day visit to Washington include speakers from the Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Estonia, Latvian and Lithuanian parliaments.